Hillary Clinton won tonight’s popular vote in Texas, but it appears as though Barack Obama will win the most delegates from Texas.

The best primary delegate analysis I've seen is this spreadsheet, being updated live by the Burnt Orange Report crew. As it stands, at 1:00am, Clinton is up by only 1 delegate, despite being over 100k votes ahead. (By the percentages, this would put her at a 6 delegate lead).

And then, thanks to that crazy Texas Two Step, there are the caucuses, which Obama should win handily.  Follow me under the fold for more details.

Today, Obama began stumping deep in the heart of Texas, where he drew 19,000 suporters to a rally in downtown Houston.  


An hour before the doors opened, the line looked like this, with people wrapped all the way around the Toyota center:

Latino turnout seemed low, though, which is a bit worrisome.  Follow me past the fold, where I expound on the latino factor, give my impressions from the rally, and offer some observations about how things look on the ground here in Texas.

Yes you read that right: 4 out of every 5 people in the US live in cities or suburbs.  The real America is skyscrapers and strip malls.

So why do we persist in pandering to the rural areas?  Why do we prop up this hokey, idealized version of rural life and "Heartland Values"?  Who exactly does it resonate with?

Examining the priorities of a government is a bit more difficult, but a great place to start is with knowing where your tax dollars go:

(link goes to large, 1.8 MB jpeg)

Follow me inside, where we'll do a little analysis of where our money does go, and where people like us probably think that it should go.

A bill passed by congress sets February 17, 2009 as the date for the switch from analog to digital television.  This means that roughly 70 million TV sets in the US will become obsolete.  Don't worry though - Congress has its priorities straight:

To avoid a consumer revolt, Congress has set aside about $1.5 billion to smooth the transition. Owners of outmoded TV sets will be eligible for two vouchers, worth $40 each, to help buy converter boxes that will enable today's analog TV sets to receive digital signals.

Yes, the very same federal government that is cutting back on college loans and food stamps will soon be issuing TV vouchers.

Link

Does the government have its priorities straight here?

Texas is one confusing place.  Today I went to sign up for electricity at my new place and discovered that Texas's electric industry is deregulated.  What that means is lots of choices for who your electric provider is.  There are something like 20 different providers for my new apartment's area alone (in south Houston).

Some of the green companies, like Green Mountain, really appeal to me, as they get all of their power from wind and solar sources.  I'd really like to talk with my money and get clean power, but I don't know if there's any difference in reliability or service.

Are there any Texans out there know anything about these green companies?

Read the rest after the break...

The problem currently facing dKos is one that every large online community has gone through:  Scaling up can be a real bitch.

You see, the fact of the matter is, dKos is getting huge, as all successful sites do.  What it's imperative to see is that the choices that online communities make at this critical point irreversably shape the way in which they evolve!

Here, I'm going to look at some possible solutions to the current problems facing dKos. Read on after the break:

I read somewhere that Kerry would be in Hannibal, MO on October 23rd, but now I can't find any info on it, or where to get tickets...

Thanks in advance!!

Americans have long suspected that our recent foray into Iraq was all about oil, but Bush and his cronies are hiding behind claims of "bringing freedom to Iraq".  

Poland's leaders have no such qualms about admitting the truth.  They're in Iraq for one reason: Oil, and lots of it.  From the BBC:

Poland seeks Iraqi oil stake

Poland, which has sent troops to support the US-led forces in Iraq, has acknowledged its "ultimate objective" is to acquire supplies of Iraqi oil.

The Polish Foreign Minister, Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz, said his country had never disguised the fact that it sought direct access to the oilfields.

He was speaking as a group of Polish firms signed a deal with a subsidiary of US Vice President Dick Cheney's former company, Halliburton.

I'm pretty sure that the Bushies never expected any other countries to undermine their 'liberation' message in this way.  Well, Mr. Bush, it appears that this time, YOU forgot Poland!

According to Electoral-vote.com:

If the Senate election were held today, the Democrats would take control of the Senate, 52-48 (counting independent Sen. Jeffords as a Democrat, since he caucuses with the Democrats). And this realignment does not take into account the possibility that Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) might pull a Jeffords and jump ship. He is from a hugely Democratic state and, like Zell Miller, would be much more appreciated in the other party.

They're all fairly close races, though, so get out there and canvass! Let's give Kerry a Senate to work with!

That is, would it be most beneficial for such groups to focus on winning smaller state and congressional seats first?

I can see benefits to both sides.  By focusing on smaller races, where outside money has more effect, the potential exists to build a slow, strong base of people who support the party's ideas.  However, going straight to the top and presenting a respectable presidential candidate offers the potential for vastly more publicity (but increases the chances of being a spoiler like Nader).

What are your thoughts?  Take the Poll.

--Chris
http://www.chrisamiller.com/blog

Watch it here.

My first problem is that the ad comparing Bush to Hitler was an entry in the MoveOn.org commercial contest.  It was not even close to being a winner, and associating it with the direction of the group is somewhat misleading.

Besides that, I feel like the ad is overall just ineffective.  I guess my confusion is two-fold:

1) I find it hard to believe that an attack ad that attacks the opponent's attacks is really going to be effective.

2) Are the images of angry liberals really a turn-off to voters?  Obviously, I'm biased, but I see people with passion there, not blind rage.  I'm inclined to believe that the ad will make uninformed folks understand that everything isn't rosy, and that there's plenty of reason to get mad at this administration.

George Bush has the audacity to call John Kerry a flip-flopper?!   Take a look at the following statements, all from the 2000 Republican Party National platform (each followed by my commentary):

1.   Reducing [the national] debt is both a sound policy goal and a moral imperative. Our families and most states are required to balance their budgets; it is reasonable to assume the federal government should do the same.

This graph accurately describes what the Bush Administration has done to the Budget surplus that it was handed.   The war in Iraq doesn't even begin to account for all of that spending.   And let's not forget all the lost revenue from those tax cuts for the rich.

2.    Citizens must have the confidence that their personal privacy will be respected in the use of technology by both business and government. That privacy is an essential part of our personal freedom and our family life, and it must not be sacrificed in the name of progress.

Yes, that's right, this came from the party, led by John Ashcroft, that has done more to erode personal privacy than any administration in history.  The Patriot Act was passed with the idea that it would help the fight on terrorism, but the Justice Department has been unable to show any evidence that those new powers have been used to catch criminals or terrorists.