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Texas' Congressional Democrats Fight Hard For Texas' Teachers, But Are Defeated

I posted the following over at Yellow Dog Blog, and thought it was worth posting here.

Note For VZDEMOCRATS:

For those of you interested in the U.S. House District 5 race (since Van Zandt County is now in that district), you should note that REPUBLICAN Jeb Hensarling, who was campaigning in Van Zandt County this week, voted AGAINST TEXAS TEACHERS by voting to end the special provision.

As hard as Texas teachers work, I can't believe any of our congressmen would stick to party lines and vote against Texas Teachers, but Hensarling did. Call his Athens district office at and tell him what you think of this vote against Texas' teachers!

Here's my post from YDB:

Texas' Democratic Congressmen led a hard fight to make sure Texas teachers weren't cut off from their spouses' Social Security benefits after their deaths in congress this week. In the end, however, they weren't successful.

On Wednesday, Congress voted to end a provision that has allowed thousands of hard-working Texas teachers collect both their state retirement pension and Social Security spousal benefits after retiring.

Under the provision, Texas teachers were able to resign from their positions and go to work for schools that paid Social Security benefits for a short time just before retiring. Since all but 89 of Texas 1,038 school districts participate only in the Texas Teacher Retirement System, teachers were able to pay a feel to districts who do pay Social Security in addition to TRS and earn a lifetime of eligibility that can be worth as much as $100,000 once a spouse dies, The Dallas Morning News reported in Thursday's editions.

Teachers groups and Democrats in Texas' Congressional delegation criticized ending the plan noting it cuts off widows from benefits that it took their spouses a lifetime to earn in the private secrot.

U.S. Congressman Martin Frost (D-Arlington), who helped lead the charge on behalf of Texas' school teachers to strip the language from legislation that would have ended the provision, noted:

"This is no way to treat hard-working people who have dedicated their lives to serving their communities."

Under federal law, the spousal benefit available to government retirees covered by a pension system other than Social Security is reduced.

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Sugar Land) even made a rare appearance in the debate, and--coming out against Texas' hard working educators, accused teachers unions of spreading "misinformation," the Morning News reported.

A spokesperson for the Association of Texas Professional Educators called the vote a "tragedy" that would seriously hurt teacher recruitment in Texas.

The General Accounting Office last year reported that 4,795 Texas educators took advantage of the provision, called by those against it the "last day loophole." Many districts reported a flood of retirees last year as Congress began the push to end the provision that benefited Texas' educators.

Under the new plan the House finalized Wednesday, Texas teachers will now have to work their last five years of employment in a job that is covered by Social Secutiry in order to ensure full eligibility.

After a party-line rejection of Rep. Frost's efforts to keep the last day provision intact, the bill passed 402-19 with 14 of Texas' 16 Democratic Congressmen opposing the end of the final bill. Only four of Texas' 16 Republican congressmen bothered cross party lines to stand up for Texas' teachers including former Democrat Ralph Hall of Rockwall.

Bob Reese Hijacks VZDemocrats.org!

Friends,

It has come to my attention that Bob Reese, Jr., has purchased VZDemocrats.org, a companion domain name to VZDemocrats.com. As VZDEMOCRATS.COM Webmaster, I have sent Mr. Reese the following strongly worded e-mail.

I can only assume he or the Republicans in the county plan on doing some of the dirty tricks I've outlined in my letter to him.

I strongly urge you to CONTACT BOB REESE via email at bobreesejr and tell him how mad you are about this dirty trick. While you are at it, contact Republican County Chair Lance Lenz and tell him this makes you want to vomit.

Better yet, Call Bob Reese at and tell him what you think!

Here is the letter I sent. I hope you consider sending a similar one!

Dear Mr. Reese:

According to the WHOIS register from Network Solutions, it has come to my attention that you have recently purchased the domain name VZDEMOCRATS.ORG. (For your information, the NS registry information is included below).

As you are no doubt aware, VZDEMOCRATS.COM is owned by the Texas Democratic Women of Van Zandt County for the use of TDW and the Van Zandt County Democratic Party.

I can only assume that it is your intention to adopt a strategy similar to that of the Texas Republican Party by hijacking a domain name similar to ours and redirecting it to the Van Zandt County Republican Club/Party's website. In the case of the state party, they have done almost exactly what I assume you intend to do, except that they are redirecting txdemocrats.com to the GOP website, and you are going to, I assume, redirect VZDEMOCRATS.ORG to your party's local website. Even if you do not intend to use the domain name, you do not have the rights, in my opinion, to hold onto it once a request for its surrender has been made. I believe case law would be on our side on this issue.

I can only hope that this is an error or prank, and that you did not actually do this. Still, whoever did used your email and physical address, which would lead me to believe you and only you took this action.

As Webmaster for VZDemocrats and incoming party chair, I can assure you that we will not stand for this. VZDemocrats is clearly a proprietary moniker associated with TDW and the Van Zandt County Democratic Party. I will reccommend to TDWVZC President Dorine Cunningham and current County Chair James Foreman that they take immediate action to resolve this issue.

It was my hope that, as incoming party chair, I could count on the Republican Party of Van Zandt County to play fair and not resort to such dirty tricks as it appears you are about to embark on. It appears that is not the case.

As a seasoned politican, I am sure you understand the importance of party and associated moneys being needed to assist candidates rather than forcing parties to use those funds to buy every possible permutation of a particular domain name to prevent it from being hijacked.

If, in fact, you did not register the domain name, and someone did so on your behalf and without your knowledge, I suggust you contact Network Solutions and the domain's registar and lodge a complaint in addition to contacting a local law enforcement agency to report that your identity has been used to procure this domain name without your knowledge. If this is the case, please accept my appologies.

Otherwise, I respectfully request that you immediately surrender the VZDemocrats.org domain name to TDW of Van Zandt County immediately to avoid any adverse action. I will reccommend that President Cunningham, Chairman Foreman and the Executive Committee of the Democratic Party of Van Zandt County act swiftly and respond strongly to this dirty trick.

Sincerely,

Vince Leibowitz

vzdemocrats.org Back-order this name

NOTICE: Access to .ORG WHOIS information is provided to assist persons in
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Domain ID:D35511571-LROR
Domain Name:VZDEMOCRATS.ORG
Created On:23-Sep-2000 05:42:34 UTC
Last Updated On:18-Oct-2003 22:24:51 UTC
Expiration Date:23-Sep-2005 05:42:34 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:R71-LROR
Status:OK
Registrant ID:C9286158-RCOM
Registrant Name:Bob Reese
Registrant Organization:BobReese
Registrant Street1:315PrivateRoad8903
Registrant City:Canton
Registrant State/Province:TX
Registrant Postal Code:
Registrant Country:US
Registrant Phone:
Registrant FAX:
Registrant Email:bobreesejr
Admin ID:C9286158-RCOM
Admin Name:Bob Reese
Admin Organization:BobReese
Admin Street1:315PrivateRoad8903
Admin City:Canton
Admin State/Province:TX
Admin Postal Code:
Admin Country:US
Admin Phone:
Admin Email:bobreesejr
Tech ID:C1-RCOM
Tech Name:Domain Registrar
Tech Organization:Register.Com
Tech Street1:575 8th Avenue
Tech City:New York
Tech State/Province:NY
Tech Postal Code:10018
Tech Country:US
Tech Phone:
Tech Email:domain-registrar
Name Server:DNS25.REGISTER.COM
Name Server:DNS26.REGISTER.COM

Texas Democratic Party Week In Review

Here's the TDP's Political Week In Review For This Week:

Texans Trading Good Jobs For Bad Ones, Thanks To Republicans.
While the news that Texas is no longer hemorrhaging jobs at an alarming rate of 10,000 a month is welcomed by the depressed state economy, the message between the lines is puzzling. Earlier this week a panel of expert economists testified to state legislators that while we've hit rock bottom in the job market, most of the new jobs being created are low-paying, tax revenue draining jobs with no benefits. This trend spells bad news for important initiatives such as school finance reform. GOP mismanagement over the last 10 years has meant struggle and disappointment for Texas workers.

Rick Perry Caught In a Fib, Makes Up Job Creation Numbers.
In a glowing report this week, Rick Perry claimed that his office has created 10,000 new jobs, many because of the controversial $295 million slush fund given to him by his GOP buddies in the legislature. Unfortunately for Perry and for the rest of Texas, many of those jobs were made up. A shocking report in the Houston Chronicle detailed that of the 1,221 jobs supposedly created in Houston, many were made up or were jobs that were already there. For example, Perry said that the "Lucy" exhibit in Houston (featuring one of the earliest known hominid fossils) that might come to the city in 2005 will create 46 jobs and a $7 million impact. When asked about these figures the spokeswoman for the museum said that there was no final agreement to actually bring the exhibit to the city, that she had no idea how Perry got the number of jobs or the economic impact numbers. Essentially, he made it all up. One thing remains clear- Rick Perry can't be trusted to tell the truth, particularly when it comes to jobs in Texas.

Chairman Soechting Gets National Attention.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution led off a story about potential Vice Presidential candidates with a quote from our very own Charles Soechting:
"Standing in a long security line at Des Moines International Airport the morning after the Iowa presidential caucuses, Texas Democratic Party Chairman Charles Soechting scanned a newspaper's front page and remarked, "That could be the ticket." The headline - "Kerry, Edwards, 1, 2" - appeared nearly a month ago. But through the 13 ensuing primaries and caucuses, speculation that John Kerry will choose John Edwards as his running mate has only grown."
Clearly Soechting's honest,and uniquely Texan way of communicating with everyone, whether they are a US Senator or a wire reporter is garnering Texas Democrats a bit of time in the spotlight. Congrats to the Chairman!

Soechting Proposes Simple Solution To Bush National Guard Controversy.
Chairman Charles Soechting said this week that the continuing controversy over President George W. Bush's military service record could be quickly resolved if the President would simply name his best three or four friends from his years in the National Guard. "A nationwide manhunt has failed to turn up a single individual who remembers serving with young Guardsman George W. Bush," Soechting said. "Rather than sending the press and his own political supporters on a desperate search, the President himself could end the controversy by telling us who his best friends were during this pivotal time in his life. Friendships that often last a lifetime are formed among young men and women when they proudly serve their country," Soechting said. "President Bush should clear up this entire controversy and give us the names of his top three or four friends in the Alabama or Texas Guard." Soechting, himself a Navy veteran, also criticized Bush for the larger problem of having influential friends of his father pull strings to keep him out of combat while less fortunate and wealthy Texans fought and died in Southeast Asia. "This cavalier attitude toward his military career while others were dying in Southeast Asia is familiar to Texans who watched his rise as a businessman and politician in the Lone Star State," Soechting said.

Quote of the Week:
"(Sending jobs overseas) is a growing phenomenon, but it's something that we should realize is probably a plus for the economy in the long run," Gregory Mankiw, Chair of President Bush's Council of Economic Advisors. Scott McClellan, Bush Press Secretary and son of Texas' Republican Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, said that Bush stands by this position.