For this edition of On The Record, we talk with Joy Demark, SDEC Committeewoman for Senate District 7.

Via Burnt Orange Report, I heard about some work from Charles Kuffner, who enjoys putting together numbers on a variety of races. In a piece entitled Targeting 2008: State Senate, Kuff points out that some Republican state senators may be vulnerable to strong challenges, or at the very least don't seem totally rock solid.

Everyone on our side of the aisle has heard them: Republican accusations that we don't support our troops. I have a question for my right-wing counterparts: what does supporting our troops mean?

So apparently yet another investigation has started on whether the Justice Department acted for partisan gain in replacing eight U.S. attorneys without warning. The new investigation is being led by the Justice Department.

Huh?

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is surrounded by political enemies these days. The recently released report commissioned by the Israeli legislative assembly on Israel's war with Hezbollah guerillas in Lebanon during the summer of 2006 declares that the war effort was politically mismanaged and that the Israeli cause was lost. Olmert and his defense minister were highly criticized for hasty decisions and a lack of vision.

Recently, people have been buzzing about the almost ancient 2/11/2004 Washington Times editorial by Tony Blankley titled, "George W. Bush — grand strategist," and depending on individual perspective, it seems that many are referring to it with some confusion, exaltation, excitement, skepticism, and/or trepidation depending on how they view George Walker Bush and his presidency.

Well, Bush wasn't kidding. He went ahead and vetoed the Iraq War funding bill yesterday, setting up an unfortunate (and probably unforeseen) set of negotiations with his own party. Bush's second veto will not result in the sort of 'clean' legislation Bush has been yammering about, and instead will show him that Republicans are after benchmarks, too.

HB 1000 eliminates sales tax collection on certain products if the products are energy efficient. The list of products is long, and includes dishwashers, refrigerators, ceiling fans, and compact fluorescent lightbulbs.

A couple of sources report (and now Statesman confirms) that the Senate State Affairs committee will review the bill this week that would move Texas' primary up to February 5.

The trust problems that those at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue have created for themselves with their unique blend of incompetence and hubris do not seem to be going away. Worrying about whether the U.S. Attorney firings were linked to investigations of Republicans is no longer de rigueur — Gonzo's "no, I didn't" versus the Justice Department emails' "yes, he did" is old news. Now, all the hip journalists are talking about whether the prosecutors who were retained were asked to go after Democrats.