Spotlight on HD 132 Runoff: Interview With Ann Hodge Part 2

As you know, Republican State Representative Bill Callegari resigned his seat at the close of the last legislative session; you know the one with a record three special sessions?  That left the opportunity for, well, anybody and everybody to throw their name into the ring to take his place.  Four candidates emerged and after the primary held in March, we are down to two.  The runoff election is around the corner and the two candidates facing off are Michael Schofield and Ann Hodge.  Hey, HD 132, we have two fantastic candidates and we have a choice to make.  As a resident of Texas House District 132 and an activist for my community, I want an informed electorate to be able to make the best choice possible; sue me.  I was very appreciative that Ann Hodge, candidate for HD 132 took time out of her day to answer my questions.  I have already shared with you the first half of our interview, and now, I'm proud to share with you the long awaited sequel.  Here goes!


KH: What piece of legislation did you want to see passed last session that failed?
AH: I wanted to see more on HB 5.  I am very concerned about end of semester testing.  I have had the pleasure of working with HCC and Katy ISD and I do not understand the disconnect.  We are testing at a certain level, but yet I continue to be told when they reach college or the community college level or the university, a lot of our students are in remedial classes.  How can you be in a remedial class?  I'm seeing employees that can't spell.  I really am struggling with what we are  testing and teaching to the test.  I am a huge proponent of accountability, but I'm not sure we are measuring it the right way.

KH: What would you like to see brought back?  Would you like to see HB 5 brought back?
AH:  It's interesting, at the candidate forum the other night, at the school board candidate forum, they were all like, our wish is the legislature will leave alone what they've already done and not touch anything.  I mean, really?  There's not some things you would have tweaked a little?  The other thing is, I haven't had the chance to run the analysis yet, but I did log onto HCAD and I was pretty shocked to see the dramatic increase in my husband's and my home.  What I'm looking at is it seems to me like  that we've got a pretty big windfall coming in Harris County and our respective school districts.  Now, I have not seen what that looks like for Ft. Bend and Waller County, which is part of Katy ISD, but I would really like to entertain some dialogue as to how we are going to be using that increase in the tax rolls that we are going to see from the appraised value versus the market value.  I recognize that there's a cap, but it still is a pretty significant amount if our little piece of the world is indicative.  I'm told right now that homes are staying on MLS for eight days in this corridor and they're going for full ask, if not with a kicker from the realtors that I'm working with on a daily basis, so I've got to believe some of that appraisal is pretty close to being accurate.  That's some significant money and we're not talking about it.  I'm the one bringing it up going, um guys, what's going to happen?

The other piece that I"m troubled by is I serve on two hospital boards and I'm not convinced that we've made any progress with the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  As a result, I've asked both administrators of the two hospitals, have you seen a decrease in the load of indigent and uninsured that we are serving walking through the doors.  No, quite the opposite, we've seen an increase.  Yet, you and I pay Harris County Hospital taxes and I would really like to have a dialog about that line item on our property tax that we are paying.  I understand how Zerwas' bill for a waiver on the Medicaid went down in the last session, but if there is a way that we can find to draw down some of the dollars from the federal government without increasing our tax burden, I'm all for trying to get that from Washington, D.C.  Now what form that looks like; I was told there were opportunities for block grants and waivers without any increases but drawing back some of those dollars, which takes the burden off of those of us that own property, then I'd like to have that discussion.  I'd like to have it, hopefully, without all the rhetoric, I mean, you know that it has to be draped in party lines.  I mean, why aren't we fighting for everything we can get back from Washington, D.C.?  I want our share.

KH: What legislation would you most like to see repealed?
AH:  I think we need to look at every agency and what their function is and I'm convinced that there is duplication of effort.  I'm also disturbed because I keep hearing from professional organizations who have licensing or regulatory fees that they pay, that those dollars are not going to support that agency that is to oversee that profession; they are being diverted.  I think that we need to just say that is an indirect tax and be honest about some of this.  I think that's where government loses the respect of citizens as well as business owners because what they see is that they are basically speaking out of both sides of their mouth.  If I had to tell you something that I would repeal, sitting here today, I don't know if I could tell you one thing I would repeal as much as I would really like to tear apart the structures and take a hard look at what each of the agencies is responsible for, what their income sources are and are they delivering the services or is it really just a front for revenue for the state of Texas, in which case, let's be honest about it.  I mean, if you look at where our fuel taxes are going and so forth.  If you look at what happened with the Lottery, I would just say we have really been mislead on a number of things that I find unfortunate.  It's that behavior, and you know as a business owner, you're not going to succeed.

In closing, Ann had this to say about serving the community as a state representative and being a member of the community: "I think that constituent services; lets face it, your there day in and day out.  You're only up in Austin for six months every two years and it's what you do in the district that really counts and that's where the model of the chamber pays huge dividends, in my opinion; that customer service is essential.  I would just suggest that customer service, as you well know, that's job one and it will be job one for me."

*Don't miss tonight's candidate forum!*

What: Katy Libertea is hosting with Bob Price moderating 

When: May 8th 

Time: 6:30 PM

Where: 1773 Westborough Drive, Katy 77449 

Spotlight on HD 132 Runoff: Interview With Ann Hodge

Last week, I was able to sit down with one of the candidates in the runoff for the House District 132 seat, Ann Hodge.  Ann has been a resident of District 132 for a while now and her name is synonymous with the Katy Chamber, of which she has been the president since 1999.  With the primary over and the runoff in full swing, it's like hitting the reset button on vetting candidates and trying to sway voters to support each respective candidate.  We discussed that and other issues related to the election; from families to committees, nothing was off limits.

Kelly Horsley: Ann, what made you decide to run for office?

Ann Hodge: People in the community came to me and asked me to run, because it was clear that they felt like we needed someone who was more grounded in the community, had lived the issues and they felt like someone needed name identification, and they needed to be able to raise the money and they needed to be able to go the distance; and not a career politician.

Kelly Horsley: How long do you think that you would serve in the state house, if you were elected?

Ann Hodge: My guess is it would probably be eight to twelve years just depending on what happens.  You know, it's not that I want to make it a career, by any stretch of the imagination.  I think it would closely mirror what Bill Callegari did and I think that he was able to achieve most of his agenda, during that tenure.  I think two to four years is probably a little short, but I would say that would be my best guess.  
Kelly Horsley: I know that's kind of subjective and that you might say, I'll go back to Austin as many times as the voters send me back, but I was just curious.
AH: It's certainly not a stepping stone for me.

K H: I know that there are a lot of tough issues that we're facing as a nation, nationally, locally, etc.  What do you think is the biggest issue facing Texas?
AH: I actually think there's three, and I think infrastructure is huge.  Matter of fact, I just saw where Congress is taking a look at a one time funding for mobility.  I'm very, very concerned about the lack of funding for mobility, particularly in the high growth areas.  I'm extremely concerned that Texas is  having to protect our borders, that the feds are not doing that and that it's falling to us as taxpayers.  And last but not least, I'm passionate about local control, I do not feel that the people in Austin much less in Washington D.C. know what's best for my children or my grandchildren.

KH: What house members, if you were to get elected, would you see yourself working closely with?
AH: I think the delegation that we have.  Of course we don't know what will happen with Glenn Heger's seat, we don't know a couple of seats.  We know that Paul Bettencourt will be probably our next Senator for district 7.  We have been very, very blessed, in my opinion to have Bill Callegari, John Zerwas, Dan Patick, and Joan Huffman and all of the folks including Glenn Heger that have done a great job.  I think the biggest thing is we work together; they've listened to the community, they've tried.  One of the things that concerns me is being in three counties; the Katy area, you can't just vote from our legislative boundaries.  And people say to me, you hosted a fundraiser for John Zerwas a couple years ago, yeah, and John's got part of Katy.  I may not get to vote for John, and I don't get to vote for Dan Patrick anymore for that seat, but I think we are all in this together.  So, you align with the people that I think can most closely mirror what you're trying to do. That's probably going to be more of your urban legislators than it is your rural, although we certainly have some issues in Cypress as well as Katy with some of your existing farms that need a lot of assistance too to maintain their stablity.

KH: What committees do you see yourself working on, if elected?
AH: Well, State Affairs, of course, the plum is always appropriations.  I would be remiss to not say education; the holy grail.

KH: What are your thoughts on home schooling?
AH: Oh, I applaud it.  I have five grandchildren and I can tell you they all have five different gifts. My first granddaughter  I told my husband that I would get down and kiss the ground if she walked across the stage at the Merrell Center and she did, bless her heart; and I did, I kissed the ground.  The next one that graduated from Katy High is at Uof H in the Bauer program so, the one that graduated first, though, attended some private schools, and definitely been in one charter school, and just trying to find that niche.  So, I'm very sensitive to that that. one size doesn't fit all and I don't think they develop their gifts and their talents at the same rate and I think we've got to figure out a better way to address that.  I'm very concerned that by eighth grade they're being asked to decide a career path.  I'm not convinced that everybody in the eighth grade has the ability to do that.

KH: You are known as the 'chamber lady'.  I wouldn't normally equate the chamber with 'grassroots'.  How do you bridge that gap to the voters who might have that same thought?
AH: When HCC decided that they were going to force annexation on Spring Branch, Katy ISD and NorthForest and Alief to bring them into the taxing district.
KH: When was that?
AH: I believe that it was in 2006.  I am positive that they thought that we would never rise up.  So, they were going to get our tax base.  Whereas, Cy-Fair has said, no-no; we will make our own determination for our community college district.  The head of the Cy-Fair chamber at the time, what used to be North Harris County Montgomery Community College, which is now Lone Star, and to HCC, you may make formal presentations and then our community will decide.  We were being forced into the annexation and they held a vote, at the Houstonian to call the election.  Now, I called my fellow chamber execs, there wasn't really one for NorthForest, with all due respect, I mean, you know what happened to North Forest, but Spring Branch and Alief said, 'no'.  I said,  'no', we're not going to sit back and take this.  Our community deserves better, we should have a say. If we are going to be in the taxing district, we need to have a say.

So we launched a massive grassroots campaign on absolutely a shoestring and stopped them dead in their tracks.  We then went to Callegari and Heger and Patrick and all of our delegation and got that loophole in the law closed in the next session.  The loophole basically said, if you want to annex an existing school district that is not part of your tax base, it's a majority vote of your existing tax base, plus the to-be annexed.  So, if everyone at NorthForest, Spring Branch, Alief and Katy ISD, had voted against it, they would have still outnumbered us and why wouldn't they want us in their tax base?  Look at what the tax rolls were that we would bring in and we would have no say.  We stopped them; grassroots, because we flooded them. 

KH: There was a recent effort chamber of the chamber to take out the Tea Party..
AH: The US Chamber; We're not a member, we are not affiliated with that.
KH:  Well, how do you feel about that?
AH: We absolutely oppose it.  And, our board has never voted in favor of that.  There are a lot of initiatives by TAB as well as the US Chamber that our board will not go for.  Bill Hammond went to all of the chambers and asked them to support a guest worker program.  I told him, I'm not taking that back to Katy!  Are you kidding me?  So, it's a great sound bite.  People say, well, you are an affiliate of (the US Chamber) and I'm like, oh, no, we're not.  You need to look at the Secretary of States filing.  We were incorporated in 1962 and we are a stand alone non-profit.  We have a stand alone board who answers to no one but our members.  They don't answer to Washington, D.C., or Austin, but it's being used against me.
KH: I'm glad I got the opportunity to ask the question.
AH: I appreciate the opportunity to answer.  You would be surprised how many true believers in the tea party philosophy you have in the business community.  The challenge is sometimes, there are activities that are frightening to business leaders.  No business owner or executive that I work with and have worked with either at BFI or in the Chamber, want more taxes or more regulations; they get it.
Sometimes, they're concerned about confrontation, so they are very passionate about lower taxes and lower regulations and that's why you see the support for me because they know that I've fought for that.  You know, do I think that the business tax is the perfect tax in this state?  No, I don't, not at all.  I think that we are hurting ourselves, I mean, I worked for fifteen years at BFI and I was told the other day, someone wanted to know when was the last time the state of Texas cited a landfill?  It's been four years.
 Now with the growth we are experiencing, let me just say, I understand nobody wants them in their backyard, but I spent enough years in that arena to know that we better be preparing for how we are going to deal with it.  You and I don't have any problem putting it out on the curb, but we divorce ourselves from it once we put it out on the curb.  I'm being flooded right now with letters on recycling batteries and stuff.  I don't know who started this campaign, but if I've gotten one letter, I've gotten 150 letters about this.  So environmental issues are still something that people are very passionate about and somebody's definitely launching a bit effort.  I think that the business community has more passion around a lot of the philosophy

I had such a great interview with Ann, and there is more to share.  Stay tuned for part two of Spotlight on HD 132.  Thanks for reading!

Hipocracy Rears Its Head in the race for Judge in the 247th District Court

Some of you may know, some of you may not know that I am a proud home school mom. It was a decision my husband and I made and committed to long ago, before we were even married, in fact. You may be aware that home schoolers have a very extensive network where we can support one another and provide encouragement and resources to other home school families. One of the things you will learn from being a home schooler is that you have to be able to trust where you get your information from. I also feel that I cannot simply trust everyone that offers up opinions as facts. That’s one of the big reason why we ARE home schoolers in the first place.  It’s a community that I take great pride in being a part of, that’s why I was so concerned when I received an email a couple of weeks ago from Tim Lambert with the Texas Home School Association.

Mr. Lambert who lives in North Texas sent out an email in support of one of our local judicial races in support of John Schmude in the 247th family court. Now, Mr. Lambert certainly has the right, and Mr. Schmude should take pride in his home school connections. However the truth also matters; in fact it should matter more and in the case of Mr. Schumde and the issues he has raised in the 247^th.   The truth may surprise you.

Mr. Schmude has made an issue out of a parenting course that has been mandated by the presiding  Judge of the 247^th Judge Bonnie Hellums who requires that all parents complete a parenting course in any case involving children, a class Mr. Schmude calls “unconstitutional”. Now I’ll admit as a home school mom I am extra sensitive to the Government dictating how I can parent, so I am glad to know that BOTH Mr. Schumde and Judge ML Walker (who is currently the associate Judge in the 247^th, and the other candidate in the runoff) have both publicly stated that as Judge of the 247^th they would cease the practice.  However, Mr. Schmude has used the issue to his political benefit, charging Judge Walker with participating in the practice of the court. However Judge Walker is obligated to do so as the Associate Judge.

Mr. Schumde is under no such obligation. Then why if he thinks the class is unconstitutional has he never pursued that legal course and challenged the Constitutionality of the course?  Why has no other lawyer filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of that course in 18 years?  Why hasn’t the Texas Home School coalition challenged the law if they think it’s important enough to endorse in the race? 

More importantly, why if the class is unconstitional has he profited by having his clients TAKE THE VERY COURSE HE CALLS UNCONSTITUTIONAL?

That’s right, Mr. Schmude has had all of his clients take the course during his very short legal career.  In fact, Mr. Schumde signed off on the exact same course he calls unconstitutional this past April 2^nd, while he is in the middle of the run-off EVIDENCE GOES HERE.

Now I’m not a Constitutional Lawyer, I’m just a homeschool mom and political activist that lives her beliefs and teaches her children to do the same. I think our candidates should tell the truth. I think our Judges should follow the law, and I think as Republicans we should demand both, otherwise we end up with someone like Denise Pratt and we all know how that has turned out.

 

Cy-Fair ISD: We Have A Spending Problem

"The main hope of a nation lies in the proper education of its youth."-Erasmus

In that case, we're doomed. In our current public education system, we are consistently teaching to a standardized test and that's what we are going to be left with; a population doomed to fail because all they know how to do is to take a test.  There wasn't enough time for critical thinking skills or problem solving, we just need to get passing scores on that *&%^$ test! 

So, how do we remedy that problem?  Back off on TAKS and TEKS and STAAR?  No, we just throw money at it.  Money solves everything, right?  WRONG!  Sadly, you can't teach parents and administrators and teachers new tricks.  It's a full blown epidemic here in Texas; spending like drunken sailors to ensure the proper education of our children.  This election cycle is no different, and neither are the folks at the Cy-Fair Independent School District.  Cy-Fair is proposing it's largest bond in the history of the school district this May, a bond for a cool $1.2 Billion.

I have a problem with that.  Thankfully, I'm not the only one who has keyed in on the spending problem that local school boards, MUD boards and other local municipalities have.  This article written by a contributor to Empower Texans writes this: Local Debt: Few Vote, Everyone Pays.  Author Ross Keceg has this to say:"...your decision to vote in May will directly affect your family’s finances."

Texas' local debt is comparable to California, even bankrupt Detroit.  Even Breitbart is picking up on it in this article titled, Texas Cities Should Learn from Bankrupt, Spendthrift Detroit.  Jess Fields says, "Texans must work to ensure that our localities do not rack up enormous debt and waste money on pet projects we cannot afford. Taxpayers should demand that local governments spend money on priorities, like good public safety and sound infrastructure."

I know what you're thinking, Republicans/Conservatives are ALWAYS railing against bonds and are screaming for a 'no' vote on everything bond related.  I can see how that might be perceived, but it's simply not true.  This issue is simple and our position is reasonable: why would you want to spend so much of the taxpayer money simply to accommodate growth?  The amount being allocated for growth, minus the natatorium is only 11% of the total asking price.

What some of us who are not in favor of this bond are asking is that the district reevaluate some of the things that are being requested.  Like $20 million for a new and upgraded phone system for the teachers and staff?  We would like to see it broken up into smaller pieces so that the voters are not being asked to pass such a large debt package in one up or down vote.  We even have a PAC that we've formed in an effort to defeat the bond, called Citizens For Fair Bond Elections.  We have organized to change the tactics of school boards that want to push through enormous debt commitments on the community that they serve.

One of the other problems that we have, other than the enormous asking price is the way the election is being held and the timing of it.  It's being held on a weekend in May, when most of the voters aren't paying attention to such things.  When challenged as to why the district didn't hold the election in November, they responded that they would save $60,000 dollars.  Hmm, saving $60,000 to spend $1.2 billion?  That doesn't really add up.

Almost as egregious as the timing of the election is the location of the polling places.  The polling places are none other than public schools.  Not only are they being held at schools, they are changing the locations of the schools from day to day.  How many of the average voting population are going to try and find their location to vote?  You guessed it, not many.  Not enough to defeat the bond, and the school district and the pro-bond PAC that was created is counting on that very fact as well.

The aforementioned PAC has amassed $55,000 in donations.  From concerned citizens?  Some, maybe, but mostly from vendors that will benefit from the passage of this bond.  Who do you suppose would benefit most from the opportunity to build new schools?  Architectural firms and you can bet that they have donated to the pro-bond side to the tune of $10,000.  That leaves a little question if this is in fact 'for they children' as the school districts and pro-bond folks always like to shove down our throats.

So, let's get out and vote this thing down!  Here are the locations of early voting and election day polling places.  Click on the link and share it far and wide.    Ross Keceg says, "A few loud, informed voices can make a tangible difference."

Hey, "Giuliana and Bill", 'Carry' On!

If you have been reading my blog posts for any length of time now, you know a little bit about me.  In case you are new, I'll give you a brief introduction: I'm a conservative mom who home schools her children.  I am a precinct chairman for my precinct, I serve on some committees for the local Republican party; in other words, a bad ass in every sense of the word.  I believe that the government should stay out of the private sector, no meddling or spying or snooping or monitoring private lives and cell phone calls, etc. 

With all of the things I mentioned, I think it goes without saying that I am for the second amendment, you know, the amendment to the U.S. Constitution saying that citizens have the right to keep and bear arms and that right shall not be infringed upon.  I'm not sure how much clearer our founders could have been about that particular right.  Hell, there's a lot that I thought was pretty clear in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, yet here we are as a nation saddled with a mountain of debt and the unconstitutional Obamacare looming on the horizon. Not only that, we have women that want to murder their unborn children all the way up until their due date and those same women are self-professed feminists who want to be empowered to have a career and a family and the right to choose.

Those are the same people who are advocating that if a woman is being raped or molested, they should pee on themselves or vomit on command.  No, that does not say 'victim' at all.  Those are the same group of people who idolize Wendy Davis, the democrat who is now running for Governor of Texas, who is supposed to be such a strong, independent woman.  The same woman who we also found out, relied on her ex-husband to foot the bill for law school and, who immediately hit the road once the bill was paid.  Oh, yeah, real independent.

I don't know if any of you have heard of the show on the E! Network called Giuliana and Bill.  It's a pretty fluffy show and it's all manufactured drama, just like all of the other reality TV shows out there.    I had it on as background noise while folding the clothes and I keyed in on something that really disturbed me.  So, the set up was that Giuliana is afraid of staying alone at the couple's home in California.  She decided a way to remedy the situation was to protect herself and get a gun to keep by her bedside.  So far, so good, right?  Well, Bill decided that he wasn't going to stand for that.  In an effort to help her decide NOT to get a gun, he took her to a local gun store with a range inside.

She picked a gun to shoot and they went to the range for practice.  While she's in there, she's jumping every time there's a bullet being fired.  She fired the gun a few times and didn't seem to hate it, but after they left the store (empty handed, of course) she confesses she has a fear of guns and was really scared in the gun range.  Then, her husband Bill, 'pats her on the head' and says something equally ridiculous like, "Oh, honey, guns should be in the hands of professionals, like the police or the military."  Really?!?

I thought you and your kind were all about empowering women!  But...but...I thought women should be strong and courageous!  I thought the conservative movement was the one with a war on women and was the one who wanted women to be kept barefoot and pregnant and in the kitchen making sammiches for her man.

Yeah, 'carry' on, Giuliana and Bill, 'carry' on.

Lois Lerner, You're So Smug!

Remember Lois Lerner?  Yeah, the lady who was at the head of the IRS and the one who allegedly started targeting Tea Party and Conservative groups from having tax-exempt status in hopes to halt their progress in raising up conservative candidates and taking issues to the streets.  

I was part of one of the Tea Party groups that was targeted, Katy Tea Party Patriots and was lucky enough to be there in person at the first day of the hearings to hear opening statements from Darrell Issa and others on the Government Oversight Committee.  I even wrote about it for Texas GOP Vote, only my second article I had written for the state wide blog and you can read it here.  

The hearings continue and she may be held in contempt.  I'm sure you have seen the infamous picture of her circulating on the internet, the one taken on day one of the hearings.  She just looks so...well...so...'smug'.  

So, in honor of this smug look on her face, I took it upon myself to change the lyrics from Carly Simon's "You're So Vain", to "You're So Smug".    Yeah, I did.


You walked into the hearing, like you were walking onto a yacht. 
You're brief strategically tucked under your arm, your breath was smelling of contempt. 
You had one eye on Darrell Issa as he watched you take your seat. 
And all the while you were screwing the tea party, screwing the tea party and...

You're so smug, you probably think this vote is about you
You're so smug, I'll bet you think this vote is about you
Don't you? Don't you?

The room was waiting with baited breath
to hear what you had to say
When you started to testify, then pleaded the fifth
I thought Trey Gowdy would heave

But you gave away your right to plead the fifth once you said you were exempt
I had some dreams that you would be held in contempt, held in contempt

And.. 
You're so smug, you probably think this vote is about you
You're so smug, I'll bet you think this vote is about you
Don't you? Don't you?  Don't you?

I had some dreams that you would be held in contempt, held in contempt
You're so smug, you probably think this vote is about you
You're so smug, I'll bet you think this vote is about you
Don't you? Don't you?

Now, who of you knew that the Political Chicken was a singer/song-writer?  I know, shocker, right?  That concludes this version of Political Chicken karaoke, tune in next time to hear us sing one to the The Georgia Satellites, "Keep You're Hands To Yourself".

Golf and Baseball and Outreach, Oh, My!

"People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care."  Would you tend to agree with that statement?  Then let me ask you this: do people really care anymore?  Do people really care for others and go the second mile for them when there is really nothing in it for them, other than being blessed by blessing others?  I would say yes and I can do even one better than that, I can give you an example.

My good friend and fellow Republican Joe Ablaza cares for children getting a chance to play baseball and he proves it because yesterday, he teamed up for a second time with The National Latino Peace Officers Association, Southeast Harris County Chapter.  The N.L.P.O.A Southeast Harris County Chapter is a 501 (c) 3 organization committed to youth and community programs. The association is 100% volunteer driven and donations from our many wonderful supporters help finance our programs. If you are a resident of the area, please support the Association’s events. The funds raised are applied to our many law enforcement and youth programs.

The Magnolia Little League is one such youth program that the NLPOA supports. One of the Core Values of the NLPOA is to “Bridge the Gap” into the Hispanic community. 
 
Our first tournament was a resounding success with over 60 golfers and $4,000 raised! With your support Magnolia National Little League will have another great year. 


We often hear about outreach, and how Republicans are supposedly so 'bad' at it.  Joe Ablaza said it best when he said this about Republican outreach, "I recently took a big picture look at why Republicans like me are not well received in these parts.  My best guess is that we are not known for the good deeds we do in these communities.  We need to do a better job at community building in areas like the East End of Houston before we can ask for votes.  Is there a better way to show we care than helping kids play ball?  My proposal is this: come out and play golf.  Let’s have a good time on the links and give back to the community at the same time.  After we make this a success, let’s find another way to help out these communities.  When we are done with that let’s move on to the next thing, and then the next because it is the right thing to do.  First and foremost, we will all reap the benefits of stronger kids and communities, no doubt there.  Little by little we will also be regaining the credibility that we need to turn things around."

Quick!  Let's review to see if you've been paying attention: Going golfing to support children so they can play America's greatest pastime?  What could be better?  Well, I'll tell you; going golfing with Lt. Governor David Dewhurst at the oldest 18-hole golf course in Texas, that's what!  The Lt. Governor used to play this course when he was a kid and he just happens to be running for re-election and is in the midst of a runoff to secure the spot that he's held since 2003, and he's no stranger to serving his fellow man. 

From his website: "Lieutenant Governor Dewhurst has been a longtime community leader in his hometown of Houston, where he has served on numerous civic and charitable boards. A college basketball player at the University of Arizona and champion cutting horse rider, Dewhurst was inducted into the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2009."  He showed up as a special guest to show his support for Magnolia National Little League to ensure their success going forward.

 For more information or to make a donation, go to magnoliayouthbaseball@outlook.com.  Tell them The Political Chicken sent ya!