Red White and Blue with Mike Anderson and Lloyd Oliver

Okay, I'm back after a week's hiatus.

Sorry for the confusion over last week's Reasonable Doubt, and I particularly apologize to our potential guest Gemayel Haynes.  We had a scheduling mix up that we didn't learn about until we arrived at the studio on Thursday night.  We look forward to having Gemayel on once our episodes resume after the break.

If you need to get your local cable access on Harris County Politics, you should check out tonight's Red White and Blue hosted by Gary Polland and David Jones.  Judge Mike Anderson will once again face off with Leaping Lloyd Oliver on PBS tonight.

The show is on tonight at 7:30 on Channel 8, but if you can't wait that long, it is already airing on-line by clicking here.

I've started watching it and it is certainly quite animated.  Lloyd starts off by arguing with David Jones. It progresses from there.

At one point Lloyd literally states "There are some people - I don't understand it -- but part of their making love is beat up one another first."

Clearly, taking his domestic violence platform more seriously has not been a primary goal of Lloyd's over the past few months.

I highly recommend tuning in!

Your Friday Dose of Irony [UPDATED]

We've all had a good laugh at Gary Polland's hypocrisy in criticizing Republican candidates who take court appointments to do criminal defense when he brought in over $400,000 in appointments last year.  Now, we can also have a laugh at Jared Woodfill who has joined the Juvenile or Family Court appointments list, as well.

Both Woodfill and Polland have violently opposed the creation and continued existence of the Public Defenders' Office, and now you know why.

They seem to be a little worried that the more cases the PD's Office gets, the less money there will be to go around for them.  If the PD's Office continues to thrive, Woodfill might even be forced to sell his house in River Oaks.

[UPDATE:  Several people (who are apparently in the know) have pointed out that Woodfill is not doing appointments through the juvenile courts, but as ad litem through the Family Courts.  If the distinction of what type of appointments Mr. Woodfill is taking matters to you, this is my notice of that distinction.  Either way, he's still taking appointments.]

Gary Polland & Party Loyalty

Earlier this week, in his bizarrely-written-in-the-plural website, former Harris County Republican Chairman and Defense Attorney Gary Polland crystalized the problem of bringing politics into the Criminal Justice World with this silly post:


It has come to our attention that several notable supporters of District Attorney candidate Mike Anderson have stated that they will not support District Attorney Pat Lykos if she wins her re-nomination bid in the upcoming Republican Primary Election. TCR is disgusted by this "I'm taking my marbles and going home" attitude. We believe that there is nothing wrong with a robust primary process, provided that Republicans unite behind our Republican nominees against the Democrats. TCR calls on Mike Anderson to ask his supporters to do the right thing and pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee, not the Democrat. If the Anderson supporters still refuse, then Mike Anderson should demonstrate his commitment to our Republican candidates and publicly reject the support of this politically disloyal minority--surely he doesn't need their "marbles" that badly.


Oh, Gary, Gary, Gary.  Thank God you aren't in the restaurant business.  If you were, I suppose we could expect memos like this from you:


It has come to our attention that over the past four years, several of our customers have complained that the Lykos Platter served here at Polland & Woodfill's Country Kitchen has given them nausea, diarrhea and, in some cases, death.  We strongly encourage you to please keep eating the Lykos Platter and try the new Shadwick Salad and the Summerlin Soufflet, as well, no matter how bad it may become.  We are aware that many of you have recently come to try the Anderson Dinner that popped up on the menu against our wishes.  Damn democracy.  Many of you are ordering the Anderson Dinner because it is healthy and does not give you indigestion.  We are doing all we can to take it off the menu as quickly as possible because we believe that a healthy and qualified meal can only exist as part of an illegal and politically motivated campaign against the Lykos Platter.
Unfortunately, we have recently learned that many of our customers have said that they will not eat our nausea and diarrhea-inducing Lykos Platter under any circumstances, even once if we take the Anderson Dinner off of the menu.  Some are even threatening to try something from the Fertitta chain of restaurants in the event we offer you nothing but the Lykos Platter.  
As customers of Polland & Woodfill's Country Kitchen, we find these types of threats to be against our best interests, and we call upon all fans of the Anderson Dinner to disavow them.  If they won't, we call upon the Chef of the Anderson Dinner, Mike Anderson, to disavow them.  Otherwise, he clearly hates food!
In short, we here at Polland & Woodfill's Country Kitchen are committed to giving you food that will continue to make you sick, and you will LIKE it. 


Geez, Gary.  Really?


Here's an idea:  Why don't you write a post on your blog explaining why exactly it is that you think a highly controversial incumbent District Attorney who has led the Office to the point of being the target of multiple criminal investigations, while alienating the major police agencies, decimating office morale, and generally not having a clue is a better candidate for the Republican Party than a highly respected former prosecutor, judge, and natural leader who used to win elections by the highest margins in the county.


Has the Republican Party under your and Jared Woodfill's leadership really gotten so far astray that qualifications truly don't matter anymore? 


Mike Anderson is a true leader that the Republican Party should be jumping up and down about having on the top of the Criminal Justice ticket.  He can give a speech with heart and energize people to do the right thing.  The reason he can do that is because he's a good and honest man who has been in the trenches and can lead from the front.


If you and Woodfill and Pat Lykos were truly interested in the best interest of the Republican Party, you would be encouraging Lykos to withdraw at this point.  The only person bringing down the Party's reputation is her.  None of you will do that, of course, because you don't care about the Party.  You only care about yourselves.


You ask your readers to be loyal to a Party that you aren't loyal to yourself.

Tonight's Red, White and Blue (1/20/12)

Tune in tonight for David Jones and Gary Polland's Red, White, and Blue at 7:30 p.m. on Houston PBS's Channel 8 tonight.

The guests are Pat Lykos and Mike Anderson.

Should be worth watching.