On the road with the next AG of TX

[PDittie]

I was fortunate to spend a couple of days at the end of last week with the next Attorney General of Texas, David Van Os. I had previously made plans earlier to bring my 79-year-old mother, who lives near Beaumont, to hear David speak at a meeting of the Progressive Democrats of Southeast Texas, but when David's wife Rachel called me and said that David would have to rent a car at Hobby, I delightedly offered my services as chauffeur.

We both had appointments at Lamar University Thursday afternoon; David's was to speak to the Latinos Unidos student group; mine was to meet with some of the alumni officials. We reconvened that evening at the PDSE meetup.

Before I tell you about our visits, which included a public hearing at the courthouse on a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) matter, let me provide some history about the area called the Golden Triangle, nestled into the corner of Texas next to the Gulf and the Sabine.

Beaumont-Port Arthur, the mid-county cities of Nederland, Port Neches, and Groves, and Orange -- the easternmost point of the Triangle; as far as you can go without being in Louisiana -- are home to the highest concentration of refineries and chemical plants in the state of Texas. And not just a lot of them, but some of the largest petrochemical operations in the world; when I lived there, their names were Gulf and Texaco and DuPont and Allied, but the names have all changed. I was raised in a union household; Mom was a professor in the college of business at Lamar, Dad was OCAW, employed by the Mobil (now ExxonMobil, of course) refinery in Beaumont. I worked at the coking unit of that plant during the summer of 1980, graduated from Lamar University that winter, and started my first career at the Beaumont Enterprise-Journal as an advertising salesman that spring.

Politically speaking, the Golden Triangle has been Yellow Dog Democrat country for almost all of the time I've been around, and for a long time before. They elected and re-elected liberal stalwarts like Jack Brooks, Carl Parker, and Charlie Wilson, but they've also had temporary lapses of sanity with right-wing fools like Steve Stockman. And like most of the rest of Texas, they fell in love with Ronald Reagan in the Eighties and haven't yet managed to fall completely out of love with the current iteration of radical religious Republicanism.

History lesson over.

About sixty SE Texas Progressive Dems assembled for David's stump speech, and the crowd included Jefferson County party chair Gilbert Adams, state representative Joe Deshotel, a handful of local candidates, but mostly citizen activists and kindred spirits. Here's a summary of what he said:

�News commentators, industry representatives, politicians, and other voices of the corporate-political-media establishment are somberly telling the rest of us to expect more increases in gasoline prices as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

However, I have some questions for the political-corporate elites and their friends in the media punditry. Who gave the big oil companies an unalienable right to profit off tragedy? Do the oil companies have a God-given right to forever maximize their profits? Why shouldn't the oil companies and their silk-stocking executives be expected to do their part to assist in relief efforts? Why shouldn't the oil companies be expected to show some public spirit and reduce their profit expectations at this time of national distress? Where are our public servants who should be calling on the oil companies to do their part? Are our public officials too beholden to corporate industry to exert moral leadership on this matter?"

About the amendment on the ballot to outlaw gay marriage in Texas:

"I take it as a personal offense and an affront to my citizenship that forces of bigotry are seeking to enshrine hate into the Texas Constitution. You know, the Declaration of Independence of 1776 grants every United States citizen the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; it is inconceivable that Texans would put something in our state constitution that would be a giant step backward from the achievement of that vision. The very idea of what the 'unreligious wrong' is trying to do is a disgrace, it is inhumane and it sure isn't moral ... Morality means everyone is equal under the law. All of us as Texans are entitled to public servants who will serve the people and do everything in their power to defend the constitutional rights liberties of all the people equally."

And specifically addressing members of the GLBT community throughout Texas, as quoted in the Dallas Voice:

"Just keep on fighting for liberty, keep on fighting for equal justice under the law and keep on fighting for the kind of society and world you want to live in," Van Os said. "Fight 'em 'til hell freezes over, and then fight 'em on the ice."

There's more, but you get the picture. David was pretty well received, as you might imagine.

Friday morning, Van Os appeared on News Radio FOX 1340 (check out the 'fair and balanced' syndicated program lineup) for an interview with local drive-time personality Dominick Brascia, who was obviously and genuinely impressed with David's credentials and stands on the issues. We had lunch with the attorneys from the Adams law firm, then went to the Jefferson County courthouse to attend the aforementioned TCEQ hearing on a modification to the hazardous waste permit held by the ExxonMobil refinery.

What a lesson in 21st Century American fascism that was.

Friday night we met WestHoustonDem, merci me, Lisa0825, johncoby, CitySky, and a few others for dinner. Johncoby has pictures; maybe he'll post 'em.

[CitySky]

1. Thanks for the Fine Report!

I've been looking forward to reading whatever you'd post here - thanks! My two cents:

At dinner on Friday night, DVO reminded us that whole idea of democracy is that the government belongs to the governed. He then described how he plans to perform one of the AG's duties as enumerated in the Texas State Constitution, which I thought it worthwhile here to quote here:

"The Attorney General shall represent the State in all suits and pleas in the Supreme Court of the State in which the State may be a party, and shall especially inquire into the charter rights of all private corporations, and from time to time, in the name of the State, take such action in the courts as may be proper and necessary to prevent any private corporation from exercising any power or demanding or collecting any species of taxes, tolls, freight or wharfage not authorized by law. He shall, whenever sufficient cause exists, seek a judicial forfeiture of such charters, unless otherwise expressly directed by law, and give legal advice in writing to the Governor and other executive officers, when requested by them, and perform such other duties as may be required by law. (Amended Nov. 3, 1936, Nov. 2, 1954, Nov. 7, 1972, and Nov. 2, 1999.) - That's all of Article 4, Section 22 - added emphasis is mine.

The Attorney General's job specifically includes policing corporations, which should in turn comply with laws or risk forfeiture of their corporate charters. If you've seen the movie The Corporation then you'll recall that, historically, corporations were only given special status by the states to accomplish specific purposes. Well, obviously their power and influence has increased greatly since then, but the fact is that the power to revoke a lawbreaking corporation's right to do business remains in the Texas Constitution - and that power is vested in the Attorney General.

OK, legal lesson over.

The true highlight of the evening for me was meeting johncoby's son, a sixth grader who contrasted his own interest in politics with his sister's apathy. "I told her, when YOU start driving and gas is costing FIVE dollars a gallon, you're gonna care!" This same fine youth wears a "NO WAR" button to his Junior Leadership Program, or whatever it is that they now call JROTC for sixth graders. "Hey, it's patriotism!" he insists. CitySky is pleased to report: this apple has not fallen far from the tree. :) Fellow DUers who were there & Mrs. Dittie, it was as always a pleasure. See you at the BAND fundraiser.

[Lisa0825]

2. It was a great night!

I found myself listening way more than talking for a change! :rofl: David had conversations across the table with several people throughout the dinner, and I mostly listened to what he (and they) had to say. His speech at the end of dinner was also excellent as always. From the first time I heard him speak at the Galveston County Democrats Club meeting at the beginning of his campaign for state Supreme Court, I've admired him.

Here are my pics from the evening:


David give a speech after dinner


Group shot of the dinner party. Can you identify the DUers without cheating?


David with WestHoustonDem and merci_me

David and Me

[johncoby2]

3. Now that is one fine group of people!!!!

Always fun to be with other activists.

P.S. You should see the picture I have of Chris!

[fudge stripe cookays]

4. Girl, you look fanTASTIC!

You weren't kidding about knocking off the pounds!

Great pix; wish I could have been there. David is an awesome guy.

FSC

[Vincardog]

5. I just got this Personal Appeal to Supporters and Friends

Since the spring, I have been working very hard to talk with and listen to grassroots voters across Texas. During this time, you have not heard very much from me about money. I have a notion, which some would call quaint, that politics in our democracy is about people first. I chose to spend this year's spring and summer concentrating on people, not on money. It is my philosophy that the base must be organized before anything else can meaningfully happen. I believe that if you have the people, the money will follow.



The grassroots outreach and interaction over the spring and summer has proven to me that the support base for this campaign is deep, broad, and enthusiastic. Now a time has come when I must seriously talk to you about money. You cannot fully imagine how much I abhor asking friends for money. Especially do I detest having to do so now, when we are all having such a difficult time economically. Not only have the Bushites made a wreck of our economy, but also, the first priority for all of us during the past two weeks has been to do whatever we could to ease the suffering of New Orleans and its survivors.



At this time, however, I have no choice but to ask you for help. Through most of the spring and summer, sufficient funds have come in to keep my travel and printing expenses paid. However, the campaign's bank account is now very low. If there is not an immediate infusion of funds, I will soon have to discontinue my activities. I know you will not let that happen.



If you believe, as I do, that Texans are entitled to an Attorney General who knows that his Constitutional duty is to be the People's Lawyer, please act now to support your belief. Please donate what you can spare to this campaign. Any amount will be greatly appreciated. If every recipient of this message contributed something, of any amount, the campaign would be flush.



Checks may be made out to "Van Os for Attorney General" and mailed to:



Van Os for Attorney General

1530 North Alamo Street

San Antonio, TX 78215



In addition, you may donate on-line at the Website, www.vanosfortexasag.com, by clicking on the navigation bar for "Contribute" and following the easy steps for an on-line funds transfer through Pay Pal. Please consider signing up for a regular monthly donation of an amount of your choosing. This is the easiest way to do your part to sustain this campaign; if every recipient of this message signed up for a recurring donation of any amount of their choosing, the campaign would have a predictable, sustaining revenue base.



You may certainly make a one-time donation on-line. Every donation of any amount materially adds to my ability to keep communicating the mission of this campaign to the public. Permanent records of all transactions are carefully kept by the campaign, and will always be available for you to confirm your transaction.



I trust the people. If I didn't, there would not be much point to my working as hard as I am. I know you will come through in our mutual desire to restore Texas to the people who own it. I know you want to see a People's Lawyer sitting in the Attorney General's office.



My sincerest personal regards,



David Van Os