Tokyo denies ghost fears keeping PM out of official residence

Yes.  That's an actual headline.

From ABC News (Australia):

The Japanese cabinet has formally denied months-long rumours that prime minister Shinzo Abe has not moved into his official residence over fears the mansion is haunted.

The conservative leader took office in December but has yet to move into the 11-room brick home in central Tokyo.

According to local media, it is the longest holdout among any of his predecessors. 

Who should the PM call?

That was too easy.

Or if they're busy he might try...

Mike McCrum for Bexar County DA?

Let me first state, I have no idea who Democrats will nominate to run against Susan Reed for Bexar County DA.

Having said that, I'm going to just throw out a suggestion: attorney Mike McCrum.

Will Moore, OK have to wait 3 Months for Federal Money?

Just a question...

Will Moore, OK have to wait 3 months for Federal Money?

Since Republicans almost never seem to have a problem theses days with politicizing a tragedy (using 9-11 to prop up George Bush or holding up hurricane relief to burnish Tea Party cred), I think those Senators and Congressmen who act like jerks deserved to be asked these types of questions.

All of Oklahoma's federal representation is Republican, 2 Senators and 5 Congressmen.  To be fair and to their credit, Rep. Frank Lucas and Rep. Tom Cole, whose district includes Moore, voted for the Hurricane Sandy Relief.

Senators James Inhofe and Tom Coburn both voted against Hurricane Sandy Relief, even though they had previously asked for federal money for disasters in Oklahoma.

Reps. Jim Bridenstine, James Lankford, and Markwayne Mullin also voted against Hurricane Sandy Relief.

I think this line stands out the most from Rep. Jim Bridenstine's press release on his no vote, "Given our crisis, fiscal responsibility is real compassion."

Senate Districts 28, 30, & 31

And now we finish up the State Senate with the last 3 districts.

Senate District 28 is a West Texas/Panhandle district.  The big city here is Lubbock followed by San Angelo.  This district covers 51 counties, which gives you an idea of how unpopulated this area of the state is.  Back in the 60s this district was much smaller, only 11 counties dominated by Lubbock.  For a short time future Governor Preston Smith (D) represented this area.  Fast forward to 1975 and then-Democrat Kent Hance was the State Senator.  Hance would go on to be a Democratic Congressman from West Texas defeating future President George W. Bush (R). After switching to the Republican Party he served on the Texas Railroad Commission.  Hance now serves as Chancellor of the Texas Tech University System.  Fast forward to 1983 and another Democrat, John Montford, held this seat until 1996.  And yes, that John Montford.  After serving as Texas Tech Chancellor, Montford went on to bigger things such as AT&T and General Motors.  Republican Robert Duncan has occupied this seat since 1997.

2012

President

Romney - 73.6%; 182,982
Obama - 25%; 62,163

U.S. Senate

Cruz - 72.1%; 175,517
Sadler - 24.8%; 60,326


Senate District 30

This district can best be described as a Wichita Falls district.  Since 2001, Republican Craig Estes has represented the district.  From 1995-2001, Republican Tom Haywood as the Senator.  Prior to Haywood was Steve Carriker, the last Democrat to hold this seat.  A couple of notable past Senators include Democrats Jack Hightower and Ray Farabee.  As mentioned previously, SD 30 was briefly SD 23.  Hightower represented this district from 1965-1975 when it was SD 23 and SD 30.  Ray Farabee probably sounds familiar to some because he was the father of former Democratic State Rep. David Farabee.


2012

President

Romney - 75.7%; 223,487
Obama - 22.6%; 66,674

U.S. Senate

Cruz - 73.6%; 212,795
Sadler - 23.2%; 67,219


Senate District 31

SD 28 had 51 counties, Senate District 31 only has 37, but it stretches from the Oklahoma Border in the Panhandle and reaches down to include the cities of Midland and Odessa, along with Amarillo up in the Panhandle.  Republican Senator Kel Seliger currently represents this district.  He's been here since 2004.  Prior to him, Republican Teel Bivins.  Bivins resigned his seat and was appointed Ambassador to Sweden.  When this district was in the San Antonio area, Samuel Maverick, of the famous Maverick family, was the State Senator from 1855-1859.



2012

President

Romney - 75.5%; 186,762
Obama - 19.2%; 45,034

U.S. Senate

Cruz - 78.8%; 182,308
Sadler - 18.7%; 43,245

As previously mentioned, all three of these districts match one state.

It's Utah.  Romney won Utah by 48.04%.  He carried SD 28 by 48.6%, SD 30 by 53.1%, and SD 31 by 60.3%.  SD 31 was Romney's best district and Obama's worst, percentage wise.  Obama only got 19.2% of the vote in SD 31.  Needless to say, all three districts are strongly Republican.

And with that, we have a nationwide map of the Texas State Senate.

When is 97% not a majority?

We constantly hear from climate change deniers, i.e.. the Republican Party, that it's not real or that scientists are in agreement on it.  And even if it is real, it's not caused by humans.

From ABC News (Australia):

A comprehensive assessment of climate change research has found an overwhelming consensus among scientists that recent warming is human-induced.

The study looked at 12,000 climate research papers from the last two decades, and identified 4,000 that stated a position on the cause of recent global warming.

Those papers, which were all published between 1991 and 2011, were written by more than 10,000 scientists.

Just over 97 per cent of the scientists agreed that man-made warming was a reality.

Gay Marriage Worldwide Map Update

From Wikipedia, gay marriage around the world.  A surprise development in Brazil today.

Currently 15 countries recognize (or will in the near future recognize) gay marriage: Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and Uruguay

Another 2 countries partly recognize gay marriage: Mexico and the U.S.  Various states within those countries allow gay marriage.

Altogether, that's about 567,488,966 people or about 8% of the world population.

Senate Districts 27 & 29

The last five Senate districts can be wrapped up in 2 posts.  Let's finish off the Democratic districts.

Senate District 27 is a South Texas/Rio Grande Valley district that runs along the Texas coast from Corpus Christi to the Mexico border.  Since 1991, Democrat Eddie Lucio, Jr., has represented this district.  One of the recent statewide Democratic candidates, Hector Uribe, was the Senator for this district from 1981-1991.  Even though the district goes up to Corpus, 93% of the district lives in 2 counties on the border, Cameron and Hidalgo.


2012

President

Obama - 68.4%; 102,319
Romney - 30.6%; 45,768

U.S. Senate

Sadler - 62.2%; 89,164
Cruz - 34.8%; 49,910


Senate District 29

Senate District 29 is a West Texas district, but is more or less an El Paso district.  It covers 5 Mexico Border counties, but El Paso is the place where everything happens here.  In 2010, it got a new Senator with Democrat Jose Rodriguez.  He took over from Democrat Eliot Shapleigh, who probably became best known for his push to get a state income tax.  Shapleigh served from 1997-2011.  Prior to him, Democrat Peggy Rosson held the seat from 1991-1997.




2012

President

Obama - 65.2%; 115,612
Romney - 33.3%; 59,137

U.S. Senate

Sadler - 60.6%; 103,900
Cruz - 36%; 61,781

Which state fits these last two Democratic districts.

It's Vermont.  Obama won Vermont by 35.6%. He carried SD 27 by 37.8% and SD 29 by 31.9%.  Sadler won SD 27 by 27.4% and SD 29 by 24.6%.  The only thing to say really is SD 27 could definitely support a more progressive Democrat.  Lucio is one of those Democratic senators that somehow ends up being the first to support the Republicans in the State Senate if they need to get over the 2/3 hump.  To Lucio's credit, he's managed to avoid doing anything completely stupid as to anger his constituents and get beaten in a primary.  Most people expect that once Lucio retires, his son, State Rep. Eddie Lucio, III, will be the odds on favorite to succeed his dad.

And with that the Democratic State Senate districts are wrapped up.

Senate District 6
Senate District 10
Senate District 13
Senate District 14
Senate District 15
Senate District 19
Senate District 20
Senate District 21
Senate District 23
Senate District 26

Useless Senate Trivia 5

The membership of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. It's jurisdiction:

1. The following standing committees shall be appointed at the commencement of each Congress and shall continue and have the power to act until their successors are appointed, with leave to report by bill or otherwise on matters within their jurisdictions:

(d)(1) Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, to which committee shall by referred all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials and other matters relating to the following subjects:

• Banks, banking, and financial institutions.
• Control of prices of commodities, rents and services.
• Deposit insurance.
• Economic stabilization and defense production.
• Export and foreign trade promotion.
• Export controls.
• Federal monetary policy, including the Federal Reserve System.
• Financial aid to commerce and industry.
• Issuance and redemption of notes.
• Money and credit, including currency and coinage.
• Nursing home construction.
• Public and private housing (including veterans housing).
• Renegotiation of Government contracts.
• Urban development and urban mass transit.

(2) Such Committee shall also study and review on a comprehensive basis, matters relating to international economic policy as it affects United States monetary affairs, credit, and financial institutions; economic growth, urban affairs, and credit, and report thereon from time to time.

According to the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council the Top 50 U.S. holding companies as of 3/31/13 are located in the following states (bold represented on the committee):
Alabama
California
Connecticut
Delaware
Georgia
Hawaii
Illinois
Iowa
Maine
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Nevada
New Jersey
New York (home to 14 holding companies)
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Puerto Rico
Rhode Island
Texas
Utah
Virginia

Queen of Hearts Susan Reed Rebuffed

The Queen of Hearts of Bexar County Criminal Justice, aka Susan Reed, was rebuffed by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.

Senate District 26

For San Antonians who are familiar with their political history, SD 26 should offer a plethora of names:  J. Franklin Spears, Henry B. Gonzalez, Franklin Spears, Joe Bernal, Nelson Wolff, Bob Vale, Cyndi Taylor Krier, and Greg Luna.  Following Luna's untimely death in 1999, then State Rep. Leticia Van de Putte was elected in a special election and has held the seat ever since.  The closest race she's had since then was in the 2000 Democratic Primary where she beat attorney and future State Rep. David Leibowitz by 54% - 46% margin.  She's managed to make herself a very popular figure among Democrats here, as well as statewide, most notably during the redistricting fight when she and the other Democratic State Senators went to New Mexico. 

2012

President

Obama - 62%; 127,237
Romney - 36.3%; 74,472

U.S. Senate

Sadler - 60.6%; 122,974
Cruz - 36.1%; 73,206

Blue crabs anyone?

It's Maryland that best fits this district.  Obama won by 26.08% in Maryland and carried this district by 25.7%.  Sadler won here by 24.5%.