Current Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief and former mayors Bob Bolen and Kenneth Barr will be appearing at the TCU Bookstore Saturday, November 8th at 10AM.

They’re appearing to sign copies of the book Decades of Caring: A Chronicle of the Political Life of Mayor Mike Moncrief, a collection of undergraduate research papers written by students at UT Arlington in the spring of 2008.

Purchasers of the book also get a DVD of interviews of the three mayors, in case you can’t get your fill on Saturday.

This Politex article got me thinking, does straight-ticket voting hurt the democratic process? I think that State Sen. Jeff Wentworth has a point. “It appeals to people that don’t want to do any research or check the people out on both sides,” he said. But does that make it a bad thing?

And did any of you vote a straight ticket — and I mean all R, all D or all L?

Hey, you asked for it, you got it. Electoral college: an essential thread in our electoral fabric or an irrelevant anachronism that needs to be ended. Discuss.

Are you voting today? Did you vote early? What was your voting experience like? Tell us about your problems. If you didn’t have any problems, tell us and we’ll celebrate your lack of problems. But, please, tell us what you saw.

Roll Out the Vote with the Lockheed Martin Recreation Association (LMRA) Bicycle Club for Early Voting!

From the club:

The LMRA Bicycle Club invites you to Roll Out the Vote with a Saturday Breakfast Ride and early voting in Tarrant County. Join us on a 5 mile, easy-paced bicycle ride starting at 8am from the LMRA Facility. Meet other cyclists as we ride down bike lanes on Bellaire Dr, through Pecan Valley Park and up Winscott Rd to the Benbrook YMCA (Tarrant County early polling station). We’ll all ride to the YMCA together; no one will be left behind.

All Tarrant County registered voters may vote early at any polling station. After cyclists complete their voting, everyone is welcome to join groups (cruiser, pacer or swifty) to a local restaurant for breakfast or head out for a ride.

Enjoy a morning bike ride, exercise your constitutional rights, avoid expected long lines and vote early.

Roll Out the Vote! with the LMRA Bicycle Club
Date: Saturday, 25 October 2008
Time: 8am departure
Start Location: LMRA Facility (3400 Bryant-Irvin Rd)
Vote at: Benbrook YMCA
What you’ll need to Vote: Must be a Tarrant County registered voter with Picture ID

Check this link for Tarrant County Early Voting Information.
For club information, email the LMRA Bicycle Club

Not a registered voter? Come enjoy the ride and support those who are.
Not a club member? No trouble, you’re always welcome!

Wendy Davis is hosting a “Ped, Pedal, & Polka” rally this Sunday at the Shelterhouse in Trinity Park to celebrate our cycling and running trails. (Of course, since she’s running for office, it’s also a fundraiser, but you don’t HAVE to donate.)

Grady Spears will be out grilling hamburgers starting at 5PM until 7, and Wendy will lead the willing on a 2 mile fun run starting at 4:30.

How many times do you get the chance to go for a jog then enjoy a burger and a beer with a political candidate?

Note to Brimer campaign: I’d be happy to post about events you’re holding as well, please just email me.

Man, those Odyssey One Source polo shirts are really comfortable! I can totally see why Kim Brimer would want to wear one in a parade.

Thanks to Alan Calhoun at Odyssey One Source for the totally unsolicited, really nice polo shirt.

Clearly I’m no good at spin, so I apologize to both candidates for the clumsy attempt at it. I still maintain that it was probably a bad idea to wear a shirt with a corporate logo to an “official” campaign function. However, I can also see how the corporate logo could have been overlooked, since the shirts are designed for exactly the kind of hot weather we had lo those many Saturdays ago.

End result: I apologize. Thanks to everyone who called me on my BS.

Editors Note: There’s no way to post this without it seeming partisan, but it’s an interesting question, so I thought I’d throw it out to our readers.

This picture is of State Senator Kim Brimer at the recent “Celebration of Freedom Parade” in Crowley.

(Photo courtesy George Wada)

The shirt he’s wearing has the logo of Odyssey One Source (an HR services outsourcing firm based in Euless).

Now, assuming that a politician’s sole motivation for appearing in a parade is to wave the flag and get some name recognition, was the decision to wear this shirt (of all the MANY, MANY shirts I’m sure he owns) a good one? I hope to goodness it was unintentional, but if it wasn’t, what does this say about his feelings toward “the working guy/gal”?

I suppose I should find it refreshing that a politician nowadays would NOT obsess over every little bit of their public image, but in this case, and particularly in this location (Crowley, a pretty blue-collar town), I must admit that I’m flabbergasted that neither Brimer nor anyone in his entourage would question this choice of apparel.

But enough about me — What do you think?

Lower the national speed limit back to 55, saving everyone money. Less gas used means less demand, and therefore prices decrease. Simple economics.

But the folks WFAA spoke to aren’t interested in that… They want the government to save them from those evil gas companies who are obviously gouging them. They want to be able to drive their gas guzzling vehicles and not have to face any consequences of their actions. They (and let’s face it, most people) want someone else to take care of the problem so that they can continue to not be responsible for their own actions.

This being the Independence Day holiday season, I have to wonder how the framers would have viewed this unwillingness to be responsible for anything. It seems to me that they were a bunch of guys who got tired of all the bitching about how bad things were under King George and actually decided to do something about it. Where is that spirit now? Have we really gotten so lazy and stupid that things like American Idol and Dancing With the Stars are more important than our political process? That was a rhetorical question — I’m afraid I couldn’t stand to hear a truthful answer.

If you’re not going to be in Houston for the Green Party Convention this weekend, you’ll still have a chance to get some hot 3rd party action right here in good old Fort Worth.

The Texas Libertarian Party will be holding their state convention this weekend at the Radisson hotel Fossil Creek, where Libertarian Party Presidential nominee Bob Barr (man, his website looks really similar to Obama’s) will be speaking.

If you feel like your voice isn’t heard or your views aren’t represented by the two major parties, you’ve always got alternatives!