End of Silence

Defamer points to a post today about our favorite local bongo player getting ugly down in Costa Rica. They also point out that he managed to recover quickly enough to go bike riding with a famous local cyclist in Malibu on Wednesday, something I heard mentioned in passing on 101X this morning

I also saw that San Francisco-based photographer Thomas Hawk has a Flickr set of a Bob Schneider performance from the end of May and makes some nice comments about another local musician Bob’s got along with him, Matt the Electrician.

This really affects our neighbors down in Houston more than it affects us, but since the ruling was handed down here in Austin and it brightened my morning, I thought I’d share.

US District Judge Sam Sparks ruled today that Tom DeLay must remain on the November ballot despite his resignation and claim that he couldn’t run since he no longer lived in Texas. As always, Kuff is all over it.

This ruling coupled with the recent Supreme Court ruling which found fault in one of the districts created by the redistricting mess that Delay masterminded, affecting the representation of many Austinites, I might add, means BugMan isn’t having a very good month. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.

With the news a week or two ago that Kinky Friedman and Carole Keaton Strayhorn are both officially on the ballot as independents for this fall’s governor’s race, I’ve been expecting hear more from both candidates. The newest flap is whether or not the Secretary of State Roger Williams will let “The Kinkster” use his nickname on the ballot. If Kinky loses out, be prepared for voter challenges as tens of people are confused by this new candidate, Richard Friedman. Look for Strayhorn to petition to be listed as “one tough grandma” if Williams grants Kinky his wish.

Honestly, it all seems like a formality. I had no idea the man’s real name was Richard until today. While I signed the petition to get him on the ballot, I don’t think I have any intention of voting for him. I’ll keep an open mind, but it’s not very likely. I’m certainly not voting for the woman responsible for inflicting former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan on us. I suppose it’s inevitable that Texas would give California and Florida a run for their money in election weirdness. Let the games begin!