Saturday, March 12, 2005
Buster and Grandma Bust the CTRMA
Anti-Tolls = Grandstanding Pols?
The Austin City Council recently commissioned a $100,000 study of the toll road plan. By a 7-0 margin, the council decided to look more deeply into the numbers and figure out how much money is really at stake. (Better late than never, I suppose.)
Joining the political dog pile, Texas Comptroller and likely Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn (who goes by the folksy moniker "One Tough Grandma") published her own report on the conflicts of interest, poor management, and general shoddiness of Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority’s (CTRMA) toll road work (Well, not totally her own report. KeathMilligan.net reports she undertook the report at the behest of Austin City Council Member Buster McCracken and State Rep. for southwest Travis County, Terry Keel).
I admit that I am fairly new to the toll road issue and may be missing out on some key facts. Yet, it is unclear to me exactly what these official looking, bureaucratic machinations are really going to accomplish.
The City Council study will no doubt expand on the issues Councilman McCracken expertly exploited at the February 14 CAMPO meeting. But to what effect? Will the report be binding on the CTRMA? Do they have to abide by any of its findings or even give it a public hearing?
Also, the Comptroller’s report, available here, has some sensible recommendations on preventing double taxation, conflicts of interest, and unaccountable spending. But again, what will this accomplish? It is one thing to pontificate from a lofty, state government perch about one county’s transportation travails. It is another thing to actually do something about it. Does this report have any real teeth?
Frankly, these heady calls for scrutiny appear more like political grandstanding. Mr. McCracken can continue to look stridently anti-toll by calling for a study that is not binding. Mrs. Strayhorn can look like one tough matriarch on corruption and a champion for the common man, while subtly building another line of attack against Governor Perry with her own, non-binding report.
Perhaps the information developed by these efforts will become part of heretofore vague investigation into the CTRMA by the Travis County District Attorney’s Office (another organization that is not completely estranged from grandstanding of its own). But will any of these efforts yield answers to the following questions:
The Austin City Council recently commissioned a $100,000 study of the toll road plan. By a 7-0 margin, the council decided to look more deeply into the numbers and figure out how much money is really at stake. (Better late than never, I suppose.)
Joining the political dog pile, Texas Comptroller and likely Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn (who goes by the folksy moniker "One Tough Grandma") published her own report on the conflicts of interest, poor management, and general shoddiness of Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority’s (CTRMA) toll road work (Well, not totally her own report. KeathMilligan.net reports she undertook the report at the behest of Austin City Council Member Buster McCracken and State Rep. for southwest Travis County, Terry Keel).
I admit that I am fairly new to the toll road issue and may be missing out on some key facts. Yet, it is unclear to me exactly what these official looking, bureaucratic machinations are really going to accomplish.
The City Council study will no doubt expand on the issues Councilman McCracken expertly exploited at the February 14 CAMPO meeting. But to what effect? Will the report be binding on the CTRMA? Do they have to abide by any of its findings or even give it a public hearing?
Also, the Comptroller’s report, available here, has some sensible recommendations on preventing double taxation, conflicts of interest, and unaccountable spending. But again, what will this accomplish? It is one thing to pontificate from a lofty, state government perch about one county’s transportation travails. It is another thing to actually do something about it. Does this report have any real teeth?
Frankly, these heady calls for scrutiny appear more like political grandstanding. Mr. McCracken can continue to look stridently anti-toll by calling for a study that is not binding. Mrs. Strayhorn can look like one tough matriarch on corruption and a champion for the common man, while subtly building another line of attack against Governor Perry with her own, non-binding report.
Perhaps the information developed by these efforts will become part of heretofore vague investigation into the CTRMA by the Travis County District Attorney’s Office (another organization that is not completely estranged from grandstanding of its own). But will any of these efforts yield answers to the following questions:
- Where will money from tolls on existing roads go?
- What will be the true toll cost/mile of the proposed toll roads and the true economic impact to Austin and surrounding communities?
- What will be the true impacts to local traffic congestion because of the toll plan? What areas may move faster at rush hour? What areas may actually move slower?
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Sign of the End Times?
Guv’s no-blog-love stance highlights bizarre media chiasmus
I could hardly believe the words reported in yesterday’s Statesman from Robert Black, a spokesman for Republican Governor Rick Perry:
Assuming the quote from Mr. Black is accurate, why would he cast aspersions on all blogs, the new and powerful media channel that may finally give conservatives and Republicans an equal footing in the marketplace of ideas? For example, Republican Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams uses his own blog to share his thoughts on many topics with the voters of Texas. (Today, his site features a splendid post on how the Republican Party is much more the ideological home of the African-American community than the Democrats.)
Perhaps Mr. Black is unhappy at a few blogs in particular. If so, he should say so and why. But luddite statements like those above reveal a surprising misunderstanding of the new media. Governor Perry’s handlers had better read “Blog” by Hugh Hewitt before the Guv gets blogswarmed in the 2006 primary.
Just when I thought things could not get more surreal, I read the reactions to the story by local, left-leaning bloggers. They are actually lambasting the local legacy media!
The tectonic media shift is pretty far along when left-leaning commentators so brazenly attack the local emblem of institutionalized liberal dominance.
So what is going on here?
Republicans willfully ignore their best chance to deal a death blow to the hated liberal press….
Liberals tear their erstwhile mainstream media megaphone to shreds….
Next thing you know, the wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.
Postscript:
The latest Perry vs. the Blogs dust up has also yielded an unanticipated insight. Evan from Rick Perry vs. the World pointed out:
Is there an identifiable, market need for such a blog or alliance of blogs? Are there any bloggers who can stand in the gap?
I could hardly believe the words reported in yesterday’s Statesman from Robert Black, a spokesman for Republican Governor Rick Perry:
"Blogs are certainly appropriate expressions of people's opinions. The general public has to realize on blogs . . . there are no controls on accuracy or honesty. And there's no accountability. People need to be very careful with what they read in the blogs. Most blogs seem to be run with a pretty severe liberal bent."Will someone please explain to Governor Perry’s office that blogs are one of the primary forces breaking the mainstream media’s stranglehold on the news? Many Republicans gripe (not without cause) that the media is liberal and unfairly misrepresents their views.
Assuming the quote from Mr. Black is accurate, why would he cast aspersions on all blogs, the new and powerful media channel that may finally give conservatives and Republicans an equal footing in the marketplace of ideas? For example, Republican Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams uses his own blog to share his thoughts on many topics with the voters of Texas. (Today, his site features a splendid post on how the Republican Party is much more the ideological home of the African-American community than the Democrats.)
Perhaps Mr. Black is unhappy at a few blogs in particular. If so, he should say so and why. But luddite statements like those above reveal a surprising misunderstanding of the new media. Governor Perry’s handlers had better read “Blog” by Hugh Hewitt before the Guv gets blogswarmed in the 2006 primary.
Just when I thought things could not get more surreal, I read the reactions to the story by local, left-leaning bloggers. They are actually lambasting the local legacy media!
- Burnt Orange Report matter-of-factly points out “… blogs are in many ways more accountable to their readers than newspapers, and other traditional media.”
- Southpaw bewails the Statesman’s coverage thus, “…shouldn't a newspaper article have something, like some facts, about the newfound attention this blog post is attracting? In a Marcel Duchamp moment, the AAS seems to say that news is what it says is news. (Actually, that's not just a moment . . . it's the life of any news outlet.)”
- PinkDome laments “We were a little disappointed not to be mentioned in this angry article from the Statesman about blogs and their terrible effect on innocent readers. Heaven forbid someone speak against the corporate media!"
- Grits for Breakfast opines that “The Statesman is like the Red Queen of Texas journalism: They're routinely wrong three times before breakfast!”
The tectonic media shift is pretty far along when left-leaning commentators so brazenly attack the local emblem of institutionalized liberal dominance.
So what is going on here?
Republicans willfully ignore their best chance to deal a death blow to the hated liberal press….
Liberals tear their erstwhile mainstream media megaphone to shreds….
Next thing you know, the wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.
Postscript:
The latest Perry vs. the Blogs dust up has also yielded an unanticipated insight. Evan from Rick Perry vs. the World pointed out:
“Could [Statesman reporter] Mr. Selby really not locate a rightward-leaning blogger in Texas? He chooses to only highlight left-leaning blogs.”In the context of the post, I think this means, “could the Statesman not locate a rightward-leaning blogger who covers the Texas Capitol”? If this interpretation is correct, the answer is probably no. I know of no collaborative, conservative blogs that cover the goings on in the Pink Building or right-leaning blogs that zoom in on a tight locus of issues, ala Grits for Breakfast. Certainly, many conservative bloggers often comment on Texas politics, but I have not seen any that do so in such a consistent, focused, and well-researched way as the left-leaning blogs described above. (If I’m wrong on this, please let me know double quick!)
Is there an identifiable, market need for such a blog or alliance of blogs? Are there any bloggers who can stand in the gap?
Monday, March 07, 2005
More YCT Hoax Fallout
Grits for Breakfast accosts out of control campus protesters, assails spaghetti-spined UT paper pushers, analyzes HB 487, a campus free speech bill (can you believe such a law is even necessary?!?), and assures me that some liberals are still for free speech.
UT Junior James Burnham posted a opinion piece on the March 2 debacle. Apparently, the protesters thought free speech only lasts as long as it takes to use the opposition's cup cakes as protest projectiles.
UT Junior James Burnham posted a opinion piece on the March 2 debacle. Apparently, the protesters thought free speech only lasts as long as it takes to use the opposition's cup cakes as protest projectiles.
Local Blog Flogging
Unearthing gems in the local blogosphere
I spend way too much time online. My pallor is becoming pale. My vision is suffering. I haven’t had a bona fide date in months. But my pain is your gain, dear reader! I’ve come across several local blogs that are worth a few mouse clicks on your part.
Technicolor Western alerts us to the threat of the Supreme Court’s unilateral activism will land us in a judicial quagmire, as illustrated by the recent Roper decision striking down the death penalty for 17 year olds. No matter where you stand on the death penalty issue, this most recent act of raw judicial power should be disturbing.
CounterColumn expounds on judicial imperialism, raising the intriguing possibility of becoming a “Stepford” citizen.
AlamoNation (not technically an Austin blog, but worth reading nonetheless) dissects the recent John Steward/Nancy Soderberg interview on The Daily Show. AN does a good job a piercing the veil of Ms. Soderberg’s urban sophistication and revealing a disturbing truth: she wishes US foreign policy initiatives and military action would fail so Republicans wouldn’t look good. (Watch the video linked above. The hemming and hawing is hilarious.)
I spend way too much time online. My pallor is becoming pale. My vision is suffering. I haven’t had a bona fide date in months. But my pain is your gain, dear reader! I’ve come across several local blogs that are worth a few mouse clicks on your part.
Technicolor Western alerts us to the threat of the Supreme Court’s unilateral activism will land us in a judicial quagmire, as illustrated by the recent Roper decision striking down the death penalty for 17 year olds. No matter where you stand on the death penalty issue, this most recent act of raw judicial power should be disturbing.
CounterColumn expounds on judicial imperialism, raising the intriguing possibility of becoming a “Stepford” citizen.
AlamoNation (not technically an Austin blog, but worth reading nonetheless) dissects the recent John Steward/Nancy Soderberg interview on The Daily Show. AN does a good job a piercing the veil of Ms. Soderberg’s urban sophistication and revealing a disturbing truth: she wishes US foreign policy initiatives and military action would fail so Republicans wouldn’t look good. (Watch the video linked above. The hemming and hawing is hilarious.)
