Monday Roundup - Dallas Ascendant, Coleman on Solar Power

State Representative Garnet Coleman joins us this week for a feature in which he outlines some of the finer points of solar power.

For years, Houston has been the chief legislative power center in the state. Dallas now has an advantage in Senate delegation size, and the area could also benefit from some of this session's committee appointments -- representatives from Dallas have gained some chairmanships and they have some serious clout on Appropriations. The Dallas Morning News has the story and a colorful chart for your consumption.

Water usage is a big issue in Texas, and the problems therein get a lot of mention each session without receiving much more than a band-aid in the final shakeout. It is with no small amount of trepidation that I note the Texas State Water Board's report on water use and sustainability through 2060 refuses to make any long-term adjustments for climate change. I'm no climate scientist, but you'd think since you were already in the business of making a model or two you'd want to at least include a worst-case scenario where temperatures and evaporation increase and rainfall decreases at the same demonstrable rates as the last 30 years, just as an example.

TXU's coal plants roused the ire of several hundred people this weekend who demonstrated against the plan at the state capitol. Robert Black defended Perry by saying the air is cleaner in Texas now than it was when he took office six years ago, but I'm not sure if that was a reassurance or a call to arms in the War on Breathing. There is no small irony in that the rally got some media support and marketing from gas interests.

If you'll remember from last week, I told you about the trouble Dallas County is having with jails and population sizes. They've begun to tackle that by letting some low-level felons go. The story says this, which I thought was pretty funny:

County officials say they are seeing results. The jail population decreased by 173 people from Thursday to Friday and dropped nearly 300 for the week.

If you are making a concentrated effort to offer plea deals to people in jail that get them out of jail, I'm not sure there was ever much chance they wouldn't see results. If you offer to let someone go, they'll probably go.

There was some international/war action in the last few days. First, House Democrats let everyone know that there would be debate this week on the surge. Steny Hoyer wanted everyone to know it would only concern the surge, lest anyone think they'd gotten the idea in their heads to pack it in entirely. The House will be working on a non-binding resolution similar to the one that got delayed last week in the Senate. Reticent Republicans are trying to rail on the message which challenges Democrats to produce a better plan, which I imagine would continue even if Pelosi and Murtha produced schematics and blueprints.

This weekend the Pentagon released reports which indicated that explosives and weaponry used by guerrilla forces in Iraq are coming from Iran, direct from the government. This will no doubt color the coming House debate, and probably more so than last week's report on Doug Feith's trumped up prewar intelligence.

In other national news, six-party talks with North Korea are creeping slowly towards inexorable failure due to North Korea's demands for "all the gas and electricity in the whole world" in return for dismantling their nuclear program. In the Scooter Libby trial, Vice President Cheney is expected to take the witness stand on Libby's behalf, a risky play which the New York Times investigates. And for some reason, Australia's prime minister doesn't like Barack Obama at all, implying that his number one fans in his race for the White House are al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Finally, the Dixie Chicks won every Grammy they were nominated for last night. I missed the Police reunion, which is what I really wanted to see, but it was nice to see some news involving the outspoken Texas natives that didn't include some county commissioner somewhere setting fire to a pile of tapes labeled "Earl's In The Trunk."