DCDP EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE TO MEET FEB. 17:

The Dallas County Democratic Party Executive Committee (which consists of the County Chair, County Secretary, and all of the Precinct Chairs) will meet on Saturday, February 17, from 10 AM to Noon, at the Frank Crowley Courthouse's Central Jury Room, at 133 N. Industrial, Dallas 75207. That's out by the county jail. Parking is $2 The meeting is open to attendance and observation by all.

REMEMBERING MOLLY IVINS:

Syndicated columnist Molly Ivins dies
Molly Ivins — Columnist, Wit, Institution — Dies At 62 (links to obits)
Tributes (a large collection)
A Sad Farewell to an American Great
Missing Molly Ivins (Paul Krugman)
"We've lost one of our defenders."
Writings of Molly Ivins (a huge collection)
Two recent columns:
Iraq Exit is Up to Us
Stand Up Against the Surge
Molly Ivins Quotes
(including: "Just when you thought there wasn't a dime's worth of difference between the two parties, the Republicans go and prove you're wrong.")
Mary Tyler Ivins, 1944-2007
(more quotes, including: "Having being properly reared by a right-wing family in East Texas, how'd I turn out this peculiar? I believe all Southern liberals come from the same starting point-- race. Once you figure out they are lying to you about race, you start to question everything.")

HONORING OUR MANDATE FOR CHANGE:

Democratic judges do make a difference, reports Judge Don Adams. Prior to the newly elected criminal court judges taking the bench on Jan. 1, 2007 a plan to set uniform standards to determine indigence had been languishing. Now there is movement on a plan. All courts will use the same objective standards to determine if a defendant who wants a court appointed attorney is indigent under a proposed plan. The goal is to insure legal representation for those individuals who can not afford to hire their own attorney such as the working poor, the disabled and those on government assistance and are charged with criminal offenses, while protecting the interests of the tax payers. "All the new judges want to deal with this issue" said Judge Adams.

IN MEMORY: JIM SALE:

Last week Jim S. Sale died in Dallas, aged 74. His obit says he "was a proud member of the Democratic Party. He was especially proud of his work with the Small Business Administration during the 1980s, as well as his fundraising campaigns for Dick Gephardt, Al Gore, Bill Clinton, and many others." He also "served on various boards and commissions, including The Veterans' Land Board of Texas, The Texas Industrial Commission, The Texas Criminal Justice Board, The Board of the National Space Institute, and The Board of Texas A & M University's College of Science. He also formerly served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee's Small Business Council and as a director of the Democratic Finance Council. ... A Memorial service will be held at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 6, 2007 at Highland Park Methodist Church in the Main Sanctuary, 3300 Mockingbird Lane, Dallas, Texas."

RECENT WEB SIGHTINGS:

Should Texas have an early Presidential Primary?
Bill Moyers: The Secret Government - The Constitution in Crisis (long video)
Jon Stewart Explains the Scooter Libby Trial (video)
Olbermann: Fact Checking the President (video)
Daily Show: Cheney’s Poetry & “Emboldening the Enemy” (video)
Why Dick Cheney Cracked Up (by Frank Rich)
Soldiers in Iraq view troop surge as a lost cause
A Budget for the Middle Class (by Senator Bernie Sanders)

RATTLING SABERS AT IRAN:

Concerns over Iran bombing grow
Olbermann: Iraq War! Part Deux (video)
The Edge of The Abyss
Fight against Iran too familiar
Iran Clock Is Ticking
Iran: A War Is Coming
Next on Bush's 'Hit List'
America 'poised to strike at Iran's nuclear sites' from bases in Bulgaria and Romania