The Return of Ignite Consulting

Now that the run-off has arrived (early voting is already in progress and, I would imagine, will draw out at least one or two hundred voters!), the election calls have returned. So far, Cid Galindo's campaign has called twice, both times with a live caller. Laura Morrison's campaign has robocalled once, with a recorded message calling Mr. Galindo a liar regarding his comments on her stance on a proposed home energy efficiency ordinance (because, you know, Ms. Morrison's campaign has certainly not engaged in any lying themselves).

But more interesting, in my opinion, is from where the call originated. A quick glance at my caller ID records shows that it came from 800-441-0704. Hmmm, that number sounds familiar...

I guess this means Ignite Consulting's application for robocalling in Texas was approved. Regardless, I find it interesting that a firm owned by Jennifer Kim's campaign manager, Elliot McFadden (not to mention a firm which has knowingly violated PUC regulations), is who Ms. Morrison wants to represent her.

Oh, by the way, I know I'm getting hits from people looking up that 800 number. That application to which I linked above shows the office numbers of Ignite Consulting. Just FYI.

It's Come to This (Part 3)

Wow, the robocall story went a lot further than I thought it would...let's see, the Burnt Orange Report picked up the story, followed a day later by News 8 Austin, at which point Jennifer Kim finally admitted her campaign was behind the calls. Then, the floodgates opened, and everyone was dumping on Ms. Kim, from Randi Shade to the police and fire organizations, and it became the first question in KXAN's debate.

Did all that make any difference? According to KVUE, the early voting and the election-day voting went pretty much the same way (though, to be fair, early voting was still in progress when the robocall story broke). So, maybe a didn't make much difference in the voting. However, according to the Chronicle, it also appears that Ignite Consulting (owned by Kim consultant Elliott McFadden) never had a permit for robocalling and didn't even apply for one until after the "Lisa" call went out. So, if nothing else, that should serve as a warning to someone.

It can also serve as a warning to you: the application (available through the KVUE link above) also absolutely confirms the use of the phone number 800-441-0704 as its method of communication. (Cue all my readers, who currently number well into the single digits, to block that number from calling them.)

But forget all that: Lisa has been found! As it turns out, Lisa is a friend of a friend. Apparently she was concerned that she might face some of the fallout from the call. Thankfully, Ignite is the party possibly facing some serious penalties, not her. But I hear she'll be a little more careful accepting her scripts in the future.

Oh, and congratulations to Ms. Shade on winning the Place 3 seat, and best wishes in the coming three years.

The Spurs Should Drop Out (for the good of the division)

The San Antonio Spurs, facing a deficit from which it appears likely that they cannot recover, should drop out of the NBA playoffs. Sure, there are people who feel that their opponent, the New Orleans Hornets, could still fall victim to a collapse, but let's face it: the best solution is for the Spurs to rally around the Hornets now as they prepare to face their likely opponent, the Los Angeles Lakers, for the Western Conference championship.

Really, what can be accomplished by the Spurs' continuing to drag this out? Surely all that can come of this is for the Spurs to expose more of the Hornets' weaknesses, thus assisting the Lakers that much more in their assumed upcoming series. It would also further divide all the constituents of the Southwest Division at a time when all need to be united against their common foe.

Now, last night the Spurs had a fairly decisive victory. This, obviously, is the perfect time for the Spurs to make a graceful exit, thus ensuring that they can go out on a positive note. Otherwise, they will continue to divide the division by dragging this series out to its inevitable conclusion.

For the good of the Southwest Division, it is time for the Spurs to go.

It's Come to This (Part 2)

Wells Dunbar wants confirmation of the "greasy" anti-Shade robocall? I've got confirmation.

(Oh, and nice term. "Greasy" describes this perfectly.)



UPDATE: My final wrap-up may be found here.

Unfairly Forgotten Song

Wow, my site meter is going crazy. See, yesterday was the first time I had posted since I added the thing. Until now, most of my hits have been coming from people looking for information about Jennifer Kim (who does rather figure into one or two entries here), Chris Matthews (no, I don't know how much he makes, but it's probably too much), or Scarlett Johansson (and I'd rather not go into that again). But, see, now I've posted something to my blog, and people are actually showing up. Crazy! I guess people are actually interested in seeing relevant, topical discussions.

(So when are you ever gonna post something like that, Snowed? Shut up.)

Anyway, I figured I'd try this posting thing again and see how it works out. A topic that is dear to me (and maybe just me) is music, specifically, music that you will never hear on the tightly-controlled playlists of Austin radio. Not even Bob, with its "we'll-play-anything" format, would touch this one (I checked).

After BTO, Randy Bachman moved on to a band called Ironhorse, which cracked the Top 40 in spring 1979 with "Sweet Lui-Louise". For some reason, I find it very catchy.

It's Come to This: Cowardly Anonymous Phone Calls

Anyone following the Austin Place 3 race might be interested in this gem of a voicemail I received today, which I will transcribe in its entirety:

"Why is Randi Shade trying to break the bank? Hi, this is your neighbor Lisa, calling to let you know City Council candidate Randi Shade has made budget promises that could mean cuts in city services and higher taxes for you. In seeking the endorsement of police and firefighters, Shade agreed to increase funding for management positions without having seen a budget, which is now in the red. With the highest-paid public safety workers in the state, can we afford Randi Shade's promises? It's not different, and it's not Austin."

Notwithstanding that 1) I don't have a neighbor Lisa; and 2) one councilmember can't do anything alone (and thus the crux of the call is rendered sadly inert), I suppose "different" and "Austin" are truly exemplified by anonymous attack ads, right, Jennifer Kim?

UPDATE: As most everyone in Austin knows by now, this story developed further.

Laura Morrison's Fear-Mongering Ad

In case you're an Austin resident who hasn't had to sit through Laura Morrison's one and only commercial at least twice on every newscast, you can now find it here.

Now that you've seen it, did you notice that this ad is flat-out lying? Oh, yeah, they're gonna build three 700-foot towers where the Green Water Treatment Plant is right now. (Specifically, per the aforementioned commercial, apparently they're gonna build three 360 Condominiums buildings on the site, but they're going to lop the top off of them. And apparently at least one of them is going to lean slightly. Seriously, learn Photoshop...) Unless plans for that site have changed quite a bit from my understanding, nothing on that scale is planned.

So, why would Ms. Morrison want you, the informed Austin voter, to think that this will happen if she isn't elected to Place 4? Because she wants you scared, that's why. Ooh, the scary developers are going to ruin our city unless I am elected! Whatever.

Oh, by the way, don't expect to see any negative comments about the ad on YouTube. Mine has been awaiting approval for at least ten hours now, and I'm not expecting to see it show up until probably, oh, say, May 11.

The American-Statesman Becomes Even More Irrelevant

It's fairly well known that newspaper readership is declining. So, if you are the Austin American-Statesman, what do you do? Apparently, you remove one of the last reasons to subscribe. Though their website has no mention of it (that I could find), Sunday's issue of Show World (their TV section) was its last.

Honestly, Show World was one of the last things the Statesman had going for it, as it was by far the most convenient way to get program listings for those of us without an interactive program guide. TV Guide was no competition, what with its having discarded local listings a few years ago.

The announcement that Show World was going away offered several "convenient" other options to get TV listings, which I will list in the order of helpfulness, from most to least:

• "Evening listings will be available every day in Life & Arts." Great. What if I want to know what's on at 5:00?
• Online: You can customize your listings at http://austin360.com/tvlistings. That would be convenient if my computer were anywhere near my television. But it's not. (Sure, you can print them out, but now they've shifted the cost of printing the listings to you.)
  
• E-Mail: They'll send you a link to the listings. See previous item.
• Phone: Like I'm going to call the Inside Line and listen for four minutes just to find out Fox 7 is showing American Idol again.
• Fax: Yes, you can have listings faxed to you. Like all your junk faxes don't use up your ribbon fast enough. No thanks.

With the departure of Show World, I can now get pretty much everything the Statesman offers elsewhere:

• Comics: here or here (with the bonus of old Bloom County strips)
• Sports: virtually anywhere
• Recipes: not that I'm looking, but lots of places
• Voter's Guides: picked one up at the library Saturday.
• Coupons: I might miss a few, I suppose, but most of what is in the Sunday inserts is for products we don't use anyway.
• Way-too-politically-slanted cartoons: the Austin Chronicle, of course.
• Way-too-politically-slanted opinions: again, the Chronicle, most notably Louis Black's regularly-appearing column, "All Republicans Are Evil and Want to Eat Your Children".

So, I'm really not sure what the point is of continuing to subscribe to the Statesman. And, as an added bonus, maybe I'll watch less TV.

Update 2/25/09: Oh, look, the Statesman brought it back. Kinda.

Capital Metro: Dumber than Advertised

Yes, I know Capital Metro's new flyer concerns rail safety, but somehow I don't think it's a great idea for them to say, "Use your brains! Stay away from trains!"

Because Austinites will. In droves.

How NOT to conduct a political interview

Anyone who thinks there are no stupid questions most likely hasn't seen Hannah Storm's asking Elizabeth Kucinich if she would show her tongue ring (at 3:05 in video, after compulsory 30-second ad). By the way, Mrs. Kucinch had the good sense to politely decline.