Message from Dan Neil

In the wake of the House Select Committee on Election Contests' 9-0 decision in favor of Donna Howard, Dan Neil sent the following to supporters:

Dear Friends,

Thanks to everyone who came out and supported us at the committee hearing today. The committee ruled that we had not met our burden of proof. I am going to consider our options and make a decision about how we will move forward.

It was a hard fight, and I am committed to ensuring that the Republican Party is strong and continues to grow.

God Bless,

Dan Neil

A lovely day out of the dungeon

It is far too easy to let life get in the way of blogging.  I took a job at the Texas Capitol this session, which has severely curtailed my ability to blog about what happens there - partially due to the sheer workload, but also because it really wouldn't be a good idea for me to comment too much on sausage-making when I'm helping do it, you know?

That doesn't mean I don't have anything to say about what is happening.  I'm a terribly opinionated person, and we've already encountered debates this session that are guaranteed to get my blood up.  I'm the first to admit that not being able to regularly blog about these things has really been annoying - it was one of the reasons I was reluctant to take on a Capitol job.  The Lord had a different course for me, and I do love being in the thick of things, so Blue Dot Blues has taken a back seat.  

With all of that in mind, Austin has city council elections coming up, we have school board races on the horizon, and there is plenty of local stuff to discuss.  My goal is to post on the weekends - at least, until we're dealing with the budget and other things over Saturdays and Sundays.  And BDB isn't the only place I blog - my husband and I maintain a joint blog on traveling, Texas, and daily adventures at Texas Traveler.  Aside from politics, one of my personal hobbies is cooking and baking, and I occasionally post recipes and stories about that at Minutiae.

I can't leave this post hanging, though, without sharing a few observations from the dungeons.

1 - If you want a good laugh in the midst of all the nonsense that is the legislative session, you must check out StafferMove on Twitter.

2 - They say high school never ends.  I beg to differ.  Elementary school never ends.  Except now we don't have monkey bars.  We have redistricting.

3 - Your sacred cow is going to be missing some hamburger by the end of session (some might be missing some choicer cuts).  But your neighbor's sacred cow will be in the same shape.  Everyone's will.

4 - When you call representatives and senators, it really is more effective when you call your own representative or senator.  I promise.  Also, it is not Congress, and we have nothing to do with the oil reserves.  Seriously.

5 - If you voted a certain way in November thinking that voting would be enough, please reconsider.  Voting was just the first step.  Now you have to tell them what you want them to do.  That means all of them, not just the ones you like or think you can trust.  All of them.

6 - I'm pretty sure that if we turned up the air conditioning we could save the state oodles of money on energy costs.  

7 - Asking a staffer what they plan to do after session is like asking a college freshman what they plan to do with their major.  They don't have time to think about it yet, and you need to work on your small talk skills.

8 - The state is still using Internet Explorer (an outdated version) and RealPlayer for everything.  The mind boggles.  I actually ache for my Google Chrome during the day.

9 - I don't envy staffers in Wisconsin.

10 - This is the best staffer blog you can be reading.  Every time I get my dander up over something (*cough*Dems on sonogram bill*cough*), there's a post at that blog that brings me back down.  

Remember the Alamo

A list of the men who died defending the Alamo, with their birthplaces.  Courtesy Daughters of the Republic of Texas.


Abamillo, Juan (Texas)

Allen, Robert (Virginia)

Andross, Miles DeForrest (Vermont)

Autry, Micajah (North Carolina)

Badillo, Juan A. (Texas)

Bailey, Peter James III (Kentucky)

Baker, Isaac G. (Arkansas)

Baker, William Charles M. (Missouri)

Ballentine, John J. (Pennsylvania)

Ballantine, Richard W. (Scotland)

Baugh, John J. (Virginia)

Bayliss, Joseph (Tennessee)

Blair, John (Tennessee)

Blair, Samuel (Tennessee)

Blazeby, William (England)

Bonham, James Butler (South Carolina)

Bourne, Daniel (England)

Bowie, James (Kentucky)

Bowman, Jesse B. (Tennessee)

Brown, George (England)

Brown, James (Pennsylvania)

Brown, Robert (Unknown)

Buchanan, James (Alabama)

Burns, Samuel E. (Ireland)

Butler, George, D. (Missouri)

Cain, John (Pennsylvania)

Campbell, Robert (Tennessee)

Carey, William R. (Virginia)

Clark, Charles Henry (Missouri)

Clark, M.B. (Mississippi)

Cloud, Daniel William (Kentucky)

Cochran, Robert E. (New Hampshire)

Cottle, George Washington (Missouri)

Courtman, Henry (Germany)

Crawford, Lemuel (South Carolina)

Crockett, David (Tennessee)

Crossman, Robert (Pennsylvania)

Cummings, David P. (Pennsylvania)

Cunningham, Robert (New York)

Darst, Jacob C. (Kentucky)

Davis, John (Kentucky)

Day, Freeman H.K. (Unknown)

Day, Jerry C. (Missouri)

Daymon, Squire (Tennessee)

Dearduff, William (Tennessee)

Dennison, Stephen (England or Ireland)

Despallier, Charles (Louisiana)

Dewall, Lewis (New York)

Dickinson, Almeron (Tennessee)

Dillard, John Henry (Tennessee)

Dimpkins, James R. (England)

Duvalt, Andrew (Ireland)

Espalier, Carlos (Texas)

Esparza, Gregorio (Texas)

Evans, Robert (Ireland)

Evans, Samuel B. (New York)

Ewing, James L. (Tennessee)

Faunterloy, William Keener (Kentucky)

Fishbaugh, William (Unknown)

Flanders, John (Massachusetts)

Floyd, Dolphin Ward (North Carolina)

Forsyth, John Hubbard (New York)

Fuentes, Antonio (Texas)

Fuqua, Galba (Alabama)

Garnett, William (Virginia)

Garrand, James W. (Louisiana)

Garrett, James Girard (Tennessee)

Garvin, John E. (Unknown)

Gaston, John E. (Kentucky)

George, James (Unknown)

Goodrich, John C. (Virginia)

Grimes, Albert Calvin (Georgia)

Guerrero, José María (Texas)

Gwynne, James C. (England)

Hannum, James (Pennsylvania)

Harris, John (Kentucky)

Harrison, Andrew Jackson (Tennessee)

Harrison, William B (Ohio)

Hawkins, Joseph M. (Ireland)

Hays, John M. (Tennessee)

Heiskell, Charles M. (Tennessee)

Herndon, Patrick Henry (Virginia)

Hersee, William Daniel (England)

Holland, Tapley (Ohio)

Holloway, Samuel (Pennsylvania)

Howell, William D. (Massachusetts)

Jackson, Thomas (Ireland)

Jackson, William Daniel (Kentucky)

Jameson, Green B. (Kentucky)

Jennings, Gordon C. (Pennsylvania)

Jimenes (Ximenes), Damacio (Texas)

Johnson, Lewis (Wales)

Johnson, William (Pennsylvania)

Jones, John (New York)

Kellog, John Benjamin (Kentucky)

Kenney, James (Virginia)

Kent, Andrew (Kentucky)

Kerr, Joseph (Louisiana)

Kimbell, George C. (Pennsylvania)

King, William Philip (Texas)

Lewis, William Irvine (Virginia)

Lightfoot, William J. (Virginia)

Lindley, Jonathan L. (Illinois)

Linn, William (Massachusetts)

Losoya, Toribio (Texas)

Main, George Washington (Unknown)

Malone, William T. (Georgia)

Marshall, William (Tennessee)

Martin, Albert (Rhode Island)

McCafferty, Edward (Unknown)

McCoy, Jesse (Tennessee)

McDowell, William (Pennsylvania)

McGee, James (Ireland)

McGregor, John (Scotland)

McKinney, Robert (Tennessee)

Melton, Eliel (Georgia)

Miller, Thomas R. (Tennessee)

Mills, William (Tennessee)

Millsaps, Isaac (Mississippi)

Mitchell, Edwin T. (Unknown)

Mitchell, Napoleon B. (Unknown)

Mitchusson, Edward F. (Virginia)

Moore, Robert B. (Virginia)

Moore, Willis A. (Mississippi)

Musselman, Robert (Ohio)

Nava, Andrés (Texas)

Neggan, George (South Carolina)

Nelson, Andrew M. (Tennessee)

Nelson, Edward (South Carolina)

Nelson, George (South Carolina)

Northcross, James (Virginia)

Nowlan, James (England)

Pagan, George (Unknown)

Parker, Christopher Adam (Unknown)

Parks, William (North Carolina)

Perry, Richardson (Texas)

Pollard, Amos (Massachusetts)

Reynolds, John Purdy (Pennsylvania)

Roberts, Thomas H. (Unknown)

Robertson, James Waters (Tennessee)

Robinson, Isaac (Scotland)

Rose, James M. (Ohio)

Rusk, Jackson J. (Ireland)

Rutherford, Joseph (Kentucky)

Ryan, Isaac (Louisiana)

Scurlock, Mial (North Carolina)

Sewell, Marcus L. (England)

Shied, Manson (Georgia)

Simmons, Cleveland Kinlock (South Carolina)

Smith, Andrew H. (Unknown)

Smith, Charles S. (Maryland)

Smith, Joshua G. (North Carolina)

Smith, William H. (Unknown)

Starr, Richard (England)

Stewart, James E. (England)

Stockton, Richard L. (New Jersey)

Summerlin, A. Spain (Tennessee)

Summers, William E. (Tennessee)

Sutherland, William DePriest (Unknown)

Taylor, Edward (Tennessee)

Taylor, George (Tennessee)

Taylor, James (Tennessee)

Taylor, William (Tennessee)

Thomas, B. Archer M. (Kentucky)

Thomas, Henry (Germany)

Thompson, Jesse G. (Arkansas)

Thomson, John W. (North Carolina)

Thruston, John, M. (Pennsylvania)

Trammel, Burke (Ireland)

Travis, William Barret (South Carolina)

Tumlinson, George W. (Missouri)

Tylee, James (New York)

Walker, Asa (Tennessee)

Walker, Jacob (Tennessee)

Ward, William B. (Ireland)

Warnell, Henry (Unknown)

Washington, Joseph G. (Kentucky)

Waters, Thomas (England)

Wells, William (Georgia)

White, Isaac (Alabama or Kentucky)

White, Robert (Unknown)

Williamson, Hiram James (Pennsylvania)

Wills, William (Unknown)

Wilson, David L. (Scotland)

Wilson, John (Pennsylvania)

Wolf, Anthony (Unknown)

Wright, Claiborne (North Carolina)

Zanco, Charles (Denmark)

John, a Black Freedman (Unknown)