Weekend and Monday Roundup Twofer: Morning Edition

Miss the weekend roundup this Sunday? April Fool's! There wasn't one. Everyone was too busy following the slow trickle of campaign finance reports being released. If you haven't heard — we'd like to welcome those of you back from under your rock — Hillary Clinton gave the old record for fundraising to this point an old-school beating. The $26 million she raised eclipsed Al Gore's old record of around $9 million, as well as Edwards' report of $14 million. Obama hasn't reported yet, though the fact that the camp isn't trying to actively quash the $22 million rumor that's being milled about may mean something. Richardson, the "A minus" lister of the group, raised $6 million, which would have made him strongly competitive in '04, and lets him just barely keep his head above water in '08.

We've all probably heard just about enough on how the TYC hurts kids — allegations of sexual abuse, racially influenced unjust sentencings, lack of consideration for the mentally ill. Apparently, the incompetence doesn't stop at the kids' treatment, however. The TYC was just as bad about taking care of and protecting its staff. Though apparently, TYC Special Master-turned-conservator Jay Kimbrough's on the case like a dog on a Milk-Bone — and he's starting with firing every registered felon on the TYC, no exceptions. Kudos to the Chron, for pointing out a 55-year old caseworker that committed a felony when he was 19. He mentions how that helps him get through to kids, how they know he can relate to their problems. In case you needed some sort of justification for why black-and-white dictums are rarely good policy, or why felons who serve their time should be treated as if they're done paying their debt to society, there you have it.

Things look cheerier in the Lege, where coalition-building Democrats are kicking butt and taking names. The victories on school vouchers and teacher pay raises are starting to make people talk about how, perhaps, we actually have a functioning, bipartisan legislature with minority rights respected. One Democrat even made it a point to thank Speaker Craddick on the floor for the evenhanded way things were dealt with, and for giving the minority a voice. As soon as I get the name for that guy, I'll let you know whether he's one of the CraddickAts apparently targeted for blanket offing in the primary. (Tell me that's still not on the table, please?)

I'm pretty sure the sky is falling somewhere in the Middle East. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had a message for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was in the 'hood over the weekend visiting Jerusalem on her way to speak to the Knesset. Olmert announced — oh, boy, here we go again — that Israel wanted to enter multilateral talks with other countries in the region, specifically naming King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. There's a little jab in the announcement at Iran that indicates that he's trying to leverage the current strife between Sunnis and Shiites in the area. And he's going all out with the announcement — going so far as to tell Pelosi that Syria is invited too, if they're willing to "openly take steps to stop supporting terrorism." Granted, the measuring stick for that will be impossible, but the fact that he'd even put the possibility out there is surprising. Don't get too hopeful, though; this is the same guy that a couple of days ago basically threw out one of the Arab League's concerns, addressing the problem of Palestinian refugees with homes in Israel, saying allowing even one Palestinian to return was "out of the question."

I know, I know, you want to hear about the British/Iranian standoff, don't you? Or the tsunami in the South Pacific? Or the latest in the attorney scandal, or the thing about that Australian terrorist guy getting off easy — sorry, folks, there is just too much in the news for one roundup. Look for an afternoon edition to this fantastic roundup twofer, where I'll hit on all those other bits of news over the past three busy, busy days we haven't covered yet. In the meanwhile, check out Barbara Ann Radnofsky's featured article on how Republicans aren't supporting the troops in the long run, either, or our On The Record interview with senior SDEC member Ken Molberg. And if you didn't catch staff writer Angela Brewer's piece last week on the origin of message, you're missing out. Thanks for reading, everyone.