From the Washington Post:

"The Bush/DeLay Social Security Privatization Plan."

That's what their Social Security proposal ought to be called. Majority Leader Tom DeLay had been backing away from taking this on a few weeks ago. Now it appears he thinks, based on polling, that they should move ahead. Okay, let's go.

When I visited Houston recently, the Perry Homes signs were everywhere. Bob Perry runs Perry Homes, which is among the state's largest homebuilders at $420 million in revenues in 2002. Perry is also widely known as the man who funded the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ads that are credited in some quarters with thwarting John Kerry's presidential bid.

What does $5,000 to Tom DeLay's legal defense fund and thousands more to Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY) get you?

$500,000 for a parking lot. The Lexington Herald-Leader does some enterprising reporting, and they get this:

U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers put $500,000 in this year's federal budget to build a parking lot for a private resort on Lake Cumberland that is owned by one of his campaign contributors.

[...]

Monday's profile of the man investigating Tom DeLay.

This is the Texas State Capitol building, otherwise known as the scene of the crime.

Report from the ground in Houston, day one:

Led by organizer Richard Haas, I got an incredible tour of Tom DeLay’s district and met some great people last night. One thing that struck me driving back to my hotel from Sugar Land last night: Richard set up meetings with doers, not just talkers. The people I met with last night know how many door-hangers and phone calls were made in last year’s election because they made the calls and walked the blocks themselves.

The Los Angeles Times released a story today entitled "Deals Reached in Texas Political Donation Inquiry." The Times reports that two of the companies accused of making the illegal political contributions, Sears Roebuck, Co. and DCS Inc., have "flipped" and are now cooperating with Travis County investigators. Both companies said that:

Via Jonathan Salant of Bloomberg (thanks to a loyal reader for the tip), from a story about Inaugural parties:

Weather permitting, I am going to Houston tomorrow to meet with activists and political leaders regarding our past, present, and future DeLay-related work. I'll be there tomorrow and Thursday, and ten drive up to Austin for meetings on Friday. I'll post my initial reactions to what I hear and see while there each day, so come back and read, comment, etc.