What did you say? THE Dallas Morning News Endorses Bill White for Texas Governor...what about Gov. Good Hair?

Texas' longest-serving governor is so certain his tenure should be extended that Perry has glided through this re-election bid with an impervious air, shrugging off tough questions and offering few specifics. Trust me, Perry tells voters, I know what I'm doing.

But in fact, Perry, 60, has done relatively little during a decade at the helm of state government. He can lay claim to few signature achievements. He lacks allies in the Legislature, and whether the issue is school finance, transportation or juvenile justice, he has not managed to see needed reforms through to conclusion.

The Republican governor is counting on the state's relatively strong economy to secure his third full term in office. But Texas' business-friendly environment predates Perry and will extend beyond his time in office. And now, with a deficit of up to $21 billion looming, more than budget bravado and a "taxes bad" mantra will be required to keep Texas on solid financial footing.

The state needs a solutions-oriented leader who is focused on bolstering Texas – not on doing battle with Washington.

Record of pragmatism
Democrat Bill White is better-suited to steer this ship of state through the challenges ahead.

The former mayor of Houston is a fiscal conservative with a progressive bent. He's more pragmatic than partisan. He's proven himself competent in business and in public office. Indeed, he's a bit of a throwback – in the best Texas tradition of the businessman governor.

We don't make this recommendation lightly. This newspaper has a long history of recommending Rick Perry for office against Democrats ­ from agriculture commissioner to the governor's office. But Texas requires a different kind of leadership at this important juncture.

Bill White is an entrepreneur and an energy expert who succeeded in the private sector before branching out into public service. White, 56, has no use for Perry's swashbuckling, coyote-shooting style. The Democratic candidate is meticulous and analytical, hesitant to overpromise but determined to solve Texas' most pressing problems.

As Houston's mayor, White proved himself to be adept at balancing budgets, managing to cut property tax rates repeatedly. He drew national acclaim for his leadership in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

And White laid waste to the idea that environmentally friendly policies inevitably were bad for business – a myth that Perry perpetuates as he fights to maintain Texas' right to pollute with impunity. In Houston, White struck a careful balance, proving that a city could go green and still be open for business.

As governor, White would be well-positioned to deliver in areas where Perry has fallen short.

For example, Texas' transportation infrastructure needs are daunting and urgent. Yet Perry seems to be stumped when it comes to offering workable funding options for building roads. The governor's go-to move is to blame Washington – and he does, for not sending more money. That's a fine lament, but it won't pay for any new lane miles.

White recognizes the need for new revenue sources and supports allowing counties to call elections to raise funds for transportation projects. This local-option approach has the support of North Texas transportation leaders but would stand a better chance in the Legislature with the backing of the governor.

The blurring of lines
During Perry's decades in elected office and two-plus terms as governor, ethical lines have slowly blurred as more and more high-dollar campaign donors have received appointments or state funds. Perry surrounds himself with a sea of people echoing his views. And he wields his power forcefully, making clear that those who dare to disagree with him can be replaced. When a Texas Tech regent endorsed Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in the GOP gubernatorial primary, he said he was pressured to resign by a Perry emissary delivering a definitive message: The governor expects loyalty.

Even more troubling is the governor's apparent loyalty to campaign donors. Perry has played a pivotal role in awarding millions of taxpayer dollars from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund to companies with investors or officers who also happen to be the governor's campaign donors – an uncomfortable and unacceptable arrangement that cries out for an overhaul.

Fortunately, White has outlined a number of ethics reforms that would change the way the governor's office operates. His common-sense proposals include limiting contributions from appointees, extending the waiting period before governor's staff members can work as lobbyists and requiring gubernatorial staffers to file personal financial statements.

While White is better-equipped to navigate the state's budget woes and handle a number of other difficult tasks, his ideas about education have disappointed thus far. He has complained about the emphasis on high-stakes testing but failed to offer a specific alternative that would hold schools accountable. White's views may yet evolve in the realm of education, and this one point of disagreement does not outweigh the Democrat's many other good ideas.

Perry's strident, tea party tone and strong-arm style won't serve Texas well for another four years. While White's focus has been on finding solutions in Austin, Perry has done little more than rail against Washington's problems. The governor's gaze seems to have drifted from the tasks at hand, as he openly discusses his aspirations of elevating his national profile.

White is right when he says that leadership has little to do with delivering a speech and much more to do with having a sense of mission. White is a man with a mission, a leader who will bring a purposeful determination to the governor's office.

Libertarian Kathie Glass, 57, a lawyer, and Green Party candidate Deb Shafto, 71, a retired teacher and business owner, also are on the ballot. But White's broad base of expertise and modern managerial style make him the best choice for governor and earn him our recommendation.

Dallas seems to be having a major out break of MRSA with school kids...

MRSA Cleaning Tips
As soon as you get home from the doctor with the diagnosis:
 Wash EVERYTHING that has touched the patient’s skin in hot water.
 Sheets, pillowcases, blankets, bedding. Add a plastic zipper-cover to the mattress in case MRSA is in the mattress.
 Clothing. Yes, even dark clothing. Then dry EVERYTHING to get that extra heat to kill the germs the wash didn’t get. Bleach EVERYTHING! This goes for the darks as well here. Use color safe bleach if it’s antibacterial. Throw away (in a sealed plastic container) any clothing or accessories (slippers, scarves, mittens, hats, ANYTHING) that can’t be washed and bleached.
 Shoes. (Spray inside and out with Lysol.)
 Bath mats, shower curtains, towels, washcloths, etc.
 Wash the infected person’s clothes, sheets, towels and wash cloths separately from others in the home. Do NOT put them into the same laundry hamper, or into any laundry hamper with holes (plastic or wicker). Use a SEALED air-tight laundry hamper until you launder the items, and always wash them in HOT water. (Yes, the darks, too, even if it ruins them. Not doing so can spread MRSA.) Clean the washer AND dryer after you wash their clothes. Use bleach or Lysol. If you use a laundry basket, CLEAN IT after you transport the person’s clothes to the washer (BEFORE you put clean, dried clothes into it.)
 Bedding needs to be washed and or at least changed every day when having an outbreak, and at least twice times a week when not having an outbreak. It’s important.
 Clean make-up brushes with bleach. Throw away anything you can’t clean with bleach (mascara wands, eye-liner pencils, lipstick or chap stick, etc.). Do not share cosmetics.
 Throw away that bar soap. Germs stay on bar soap, and can be passed along. Lever 2000 or Cetaphil are liquids that are safe and gentle on skin. Clean the dispenser every time it’s used with an antibacterial wipe or Lysol.
 Clean every surface in the home with bleach or spray with Lysol. No exceptions. Run the dishwasher at very high heat (with nothing in it except bleach). From floors to walls, every surface – including electronics – in the house has to be cleaned. If you can’t use bleach, use Lysol. If you can’t use Lysol or bleach, use anti-bacterial wipes (this works for computer keyboards, DVD players and other electronics you don’t want to get too wet.) Wear gloves, and THROW AWAY the sponge you use (in a plastic bag) after you use it. Do this once a week for at least a month.
 Spray the shower, toilet, bathroom and kitchen sinks, doorknobs, light switches, TV remote controls, bathroom scale, toothpaste tube, bathroom taps and faucets, towel racks, bookshelf, mailbox, house keys – any solid surface that the person with MRSA comes into contact with -- with bleach and let it sit for about 15 minutes before you clean it. This needs to be done after each time the MRSA patient uses the shower (or other solid-surface place) even when they are not broken out for at least 30 days after an outbreak. NO MORE BATHS. It spreads MRSA from one place to another on the infected person’s body. If you have a pool or Jacuzzi, drain it, wash it with bleach, and the infected person should not use it for 30 days after a physician says that they are disease free and not subject to future outbreaks.
 Soak combs and hairbrushes and any hair accessories (barrettes, pony-tail ties, clips, etc.) for at least 20 minutes in a sink filled with HOT water and at least one cup of bleach. DO NOT share hair accessories.
While the person is healing, and for at least 60 days afterwards:
 Dust the home daily. Dust carries dead skin cells and in turn these dead skin cells carry MRSA.
 DO NOT share razors, clothes, towels, wash cloths, drinks, food and so on with anyone who has had MRSA. (Just don’t do it.)
 Use Lysol like it’s going out of style. Spray down the phone, light switches, the key board and mouse, fridge door handle, door knobs, furniture, toilet, remotes, and so on. This needs to be done daily.
 Buy some antibacterial wipes and clean off the toilet and toilet handle after EACH use. They also should be used on shopping cart handles, books, TV remotes, on and off switches, refrigerator doors, and anything else you can think of that you touch with bare skin.
 Keep the sores covered at ALL times.
 While a person is broken out it might be a good idea to designate one seat in the living room just for them. Sharing that seat or part of the couch might be asking for problems. When they are done using it, spray it with Lysol.
 Take hand sanitizer EVERYWHERE. Use it when you sneeze or cough if you can’t get to a sink to wash. Sneezing or coughing is a smooth ride out for MRSA. MRSA is also airborne, so make sure you cover when sneezing and coughing.
 Carpets have to be cleaned after a MRSA outbreak. Rent a machine at the grocery store if you don’t own one, and add antibacterial soap to the mix.
 Don’t share or use roll-on deodorant. (It can pass MRSA from one arm to the other, and underarm lesions are painful.) Spray deodorant is a must. Don’t share even an aerosol spray with another person.


It can be ugly, Folks.

http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&safe=off&gbv=2&tbs=isch:1&q=mrsa&revid=93978821&sa=X&ei=xZu8TLPbNcWclgfDpfTCDQ&ved=0CCQQ1QIoBA

All PolitFact Check for Statements Regarding Bill White

http://www.politifact.com/personalities/bill-white/statements/

All PolitFact Check for Statements Regarding Rick Perry

http://www.politifact.com/personalities/rick-perry/statements/

Gov. Rick Perry told the Newspapers of Texas: "You have out lived your usefulness ... I don't need your endorsements or your reporting..."

http://lubbockonline.com/texas/2010-10-06/texas-gov-rick-perry-regards-newspaper-endorsements-waste-time


Candidates for high political office usually grovel for newspaper endorsements. Not Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Breaking from a decades-old tradition, the governor isn’t even bothering to meet with editorial writers, much less ask for their blessing.

The way Perry sees it, newspapers are old news and have lost much of their influence. In a rapidly changing media climate, Perry said he decided before the March primaries that seeking their endorsements was a waste of time. After winning by 20 percentage points, the governor said he sees no reason to switch strategies in his race against Democrat Bill White.

“The most prized resource that you have is the candidate’s time, and what is the best return on your investment that you can get with a candidate’s time,” Perry told The Associated Press. “It was a calculated decision, but you know the world is really changing, I mean, the way people get their information, who they listen to, etc. Put it all on the balance beam and the balance was toward not doing the editorial boards.”

Newspaper editorialists have responded to Perry’s snub with fury, accusing him of doing a disservice to voters by refusing to submit to unscripted questioning.

The staunchly conservative Tyler Morning Telegraph, which Perry once called his “favorite” paper, slapped the longest-serving Texas governor with a blistering front-page editorial on Sunday.

“Your position to not visit with the editorial boards of Texas newspapers may be astute politically, but it demonstrates a disregard for newspaper readers and voters across the state, who deserve to hear substance rather than silence,” the editorial said.

White — the former Houston mayor who has been endorsed by The Houston Chronicle and the Austin American-Statesman, two of the state’s largest dailies in Democratic-leaning cities — said Tuesday that Perry’s “handlers are afraid of what he’ll say unscripted.”

Perry also drew an unusual rebuke from the National Conference of Editorial Writers, which called him “disingenuous” for saying he didn’t have time to take questions from its members when he spoke to their annual conference last month in Dallas.

“If the governor can’t take questions from the editorial board, from the press, on behalf of the public, it makes you wonder if they’re fit for office,” said Tom Waseleski of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, former president of the conference. “To out and out refuse to meet with editorial boards is cowardly and reprehensible.”

GOP voters are more inclined to view the media as hostile while general election swing voters may be more influenced by newspaper endorsements, said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute in Hamden, Conn.

At least one other candidate, Florida GOP gubernatorial nominee Rick Scott, shunned editorial boards in the primary and has yet to schedule any meetings as he faces Democrat Alex Sink.

Brown said that candidates have previously avoided editorial boards during the primaries, but ignoring them entirely throughout an election could represent a new trend in the world of 24-hour news channels and Internet dominance.

“Before the Internet, newspapers in general were a bigger deal and their endorsements mattered more,” he said.

Seeking endorsements from the newspaper boards, made up of opinion writers, columnists and senior editors, is a traditional campaign ritual. It generally is done in a meeting that lasts an hour or more, and it’s not always a walk in the park. Republican political consultant Mark Sanders called it the “second most stressful thing a campaign has to go through,” behind debate preparation.

“You’re meeting with a lot of very smart, opinionated people who are just not going to take any guff off of the candidate,” Sanders said. “You’ve got to be very, very well prepared to go into an editorial board meeting.”

The intentional snub of the newspapers fits squarely with Perry’s damn-the-torpedoes style. He also has refused to debate White, and he hasn’t hesitated to break from other traditional campaign strategies. For example, Perry doesn’t send out direct mail and he will sell — but not give away — yard signs to supporters.

An independent group funded by an emerging Democratic money man has released a second full-page newspaper ad, capitalizing on Perry’s refusal to debate. The ad demands that Perry “FACE US.” The words appear over a dark, shadowy silhouette of Perry with his head down.

Someone suggested that this might be a California Voter going to the polls to vote FOR PROP 19

Don't Let Anything Stop You From Voting ...