Rodney Reed gets a stay of execution

Rodney Reed, his family, and supporters are breathing easier tonight as the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ordered a stay of execution in his case. Reed had been scheduled for execution Nov. 20 for the rape and murder of Stacey Stites in 1996.

Earlier in the day the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles unanimously recommended that Gov. Gregg Abbott issue a stay of execution. Those of us who have been following the case thought it was up to Abbott to do the right thing and allow time for exculpatory evidence to finally be evaluated. Speakers at a Thursday night vigil on Reed's behalf prayed for Abbott to have a restless night so God could work on his conscience. Apparently the divine found the Pardons and Paroles folks easier to work with and quicker to convince to take action.

Reed was convicted 22 years ago and has steadfastly maintained his innocence. His family, including his mother Sandra and brother Rodrick have been tireless, vocal, and charismatic in pleading his case to the public. They have rallied supporters from Bastrop's county courthouse to the Texas Governor's Mansion to the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court.

The photo below shows Sandra and Rodrick Reed holding hands while community members pray for them during a recent rally at the Bastrop County Courthouse. Note the Innocence Project bag Sandra is holding. This organization has taken on Reed's case. You can read about their ongoing efforts on his behalf here. (Photo credit: Elizabeth Jarnagin)

Numerous celebrities and politicians have joined the cause to spare Reed's life in recent weeks. They include Oprah, Beyonce', and Kim Kardashian West, who according to this TMZ article was with Reed when he learned his execution had been stayed. This Texas Monthly article gives background about Reed's case and the many people in show business and government who want him to get a new trial. This includes, somewhat surprisingly, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz and state Rep. John Cyrier, both Republican. Cyrier represents Bastrop County. Numerous Democratic officeholders have also called on the governor to spare Reed's life.

I am not in pop music or politics but I have opposed the death penalty for as long as I can remember. It is cruel. It is biased toward the poor, people of color, and those with intellectual impairment. Reed is black. He was convicted by an all-white jury. I want the death penalty to end in this country and I have hope that will happen. Until then the fight is case by case with hope for more reprieves like today's, more prayerful rallies, and more unexpected allies around each corner.

An interesting day for the Donald

What a 24 hours 45 has had. This morning he crowed about how our military, with help from the Kurds even after we abandoned them, cornered ISIS leader Abu Baker al-Baghdadi in Syria. Al-Baghdadi detonated his suicide vest, killing himself and several children. Trump took malevolent glee in reciting (and perhaps making up) gory and humiliating detail about the ISIS leader's last moments. It really was nauseating to listen to. Yes, the world is better off without this terrorist but gloating over anyone's death is unseemly and may endanger many now that ISIS prisoners have escaped their Kurdish prison guards. They will want revenge for their leader's humiliation.
Trump loves to compare himself to his predecessor Barack Obama so of course he tried to make the case today that al-Baghdadi's death was a bigger deal than Osama bin Laden's. Then trump falsely claimed he had called for bin Laden's death in a 2000 book. We can also compare how trump treats such a grave moment to how Obama did, as the Washington Post's David Nakamura does in this opinion piece.
There also appears to be some doubt as to whether trump watched the raid as it happened. The timeline suggests he may have been playing golf and a former White House photographer has suggested the War Room photo of trump and some generals may have been staged after the fact. This would not surprise me in the least.
Hours later, trump and his closest sycophants attended Game 5 of the World Series. The crowd booed trump. Loudly. Then they chanted "Lock him up." So.... not exactly a victory lap. Team owners reportedly asked game officials to *not* sit trump next to them. This splendidly named New York Times piece gives the details of trump's humiliation. Add to that the protest signs reading "Veterans for impeachment" that sprung up just behind home plate when trump was introduced in the third inning.
Was he expecting to be feted as the conquering hero? Perhaps. But he got a dose of what Americans who do not attend his rallies or watch Fox News think of him. I doubt he will be going out "to the old ball game" again anytime soon. If you have not seen/heard his horrendous 2001 rendition of that ballpark classic, here you go.
The Tweet of the day goes to Patton Oswalt who summed up 45's day thusly: "Imagine being so hated that on the day you announce that the leader of ISIS has been killed on your orders a stadium full of baseball fans still boos you."
Trump is that hated and for good reason. Yes, a terrorist leader is dead. That is good. But this country is still stuck with a president fixated on his own ego rather than the nation's best interests. He's had more than three strikes and too many fouls to count. Time to call him "Out!"

They tried to shut her up; she still spoke

We were treated this week to another Capitol Hill theater of the absurd episode as the GOP bends itself into pretzels trying to shield Donald Trump from accountability over Ukraine. More importantly, we are also being treated to brave public servants defying 45 and his congressional enablers. People like Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Cooper
who spoke for three hours yesterday about 45 denying Congressionally approved aid to Ukraine until they coughed up imaginary dirt on the Biden family. 
Why just three hours when other key witnesses like Ambassador William Taylor have testified for nine or more hours? This New Yorker piece details why his testimony this week was so damning and damaging for trump.
Thirty plus Republican members of Congress, who have clearly been consuming waaayyy too much orange Kool-Aid, broke protocol and federal law to protest and delay Cooper's testimony. Because she was going to speak on national security issues, her testimony was set for a secure setting. Enter, stage right, what appeared for all the world to be a gay men's choir (as a Facebook friend put it) blocking the hall and demanding entrance into the secure room. With cellphones. And ordering junk food on said cellphones. Also, half of the protesting politicians had clearance to attend one or more of the three committees set to hear Cooper's testimony.
So Ms. Cooper had to wait five hours while the choir boys insisted on transparency by violating secure space in which Ms. Cooper was attempting to provide Congress with, wait for it, transparency. So far she has been the only Pentagon witness. The Pentagon tried to stop her from testifying and they have thus far refused to hand over requested military documents.
We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Coopers and Taylors in public service. Because of their speaking out, Congress and the American people are learning the depths of trump's self-serving depravity. As for the trumpets in the House? They need to be shown the door.

Citizenship test as written by Trump

The Trump administration is planning to revise the written civics test immigrants must take to earn citizenship. My first thought: Oh no. Second thought: Comedy gold. So here is what I think the new citizenship test might look like, as written by Donald Trump.

So you want to be an American, huh? Well first you gotta answer a few questions, my questions written by me and we’ll decide if we want you.

1.    Do you swear eternal loyalty to me, the greatest, bestest, intelligentest president ever?

Yes – continue

No – Get the f--- outta my country!

2.    Are ya white? Like your freckles get sunburned if you go out for 5 minutes without a sun bonnet, that white? ‘Cause that’s what we want around here. Or orange. Orange works, too.

Yes – continue

No – Get the f--- outta my country!

3.    Name three Trump properties. Use the space below.

4.    What is my golf handicap?

5.    Can you talk English good?

Yes – continue

No – Get the f--- outta my country!

6.    Can you talk in other languages?

Yes – Get the f--- outta my country!

No – OK then

7.    Who is the smartest, handsomest, decidingest president ever?

That’s right, me! And “decidingest” is too a word because I SAY IT IS!

8.    Who is responsible for all that is wrong in this country that I have not had a chance to fix yet? Stuff like bad roads, earthquakes, and bad cable reception.

I will give you a hint, because that’s how great I am. Here’s your hint: B.O. Like “body odor.” ‘Cause he stinks! Get it? Am I not clever? It’s Obama. What a failure. Sad.

9.    Do my hands look small?

Yes – Get the f--- out of my country!

No – OK then.

10.  How much will you give to my re-election campaign?

That’s it. Pencils down. Pick up your pen and checkbook. Let’s see what we have here….

No time for lawn chairs

I get that a lot of us are feeling especially Fourth-of-July-y this year. We have a sadistic, narcissistic tyrant in the White House, foisted upon us by a hostile foreign power. We have children and families enduring unspeakable hardships at our southern border as they seek to claim the refuge and liberty our nation was established to provide. It is easy to feel helpless and overcome. But let's not.

I agree this is not the time for sparklers. This is not the time for flag waving or Yankee Doodle-Dandy-ing. This is not the time for setting out lawn chairs along a parade route to watch others pass by for our entertainment. Nor does it feel right to stare gap-jawed at a fireworks display put on by our government.

Rather, this is the time to embrace and live our nation's proud history of noisy, active democracy. Our forebears raised hell and raised up a new kind of nation in the 1770s. They left us a legacy of freedom, of rebelling when needed, of speaking truth to power, of giving no quarter to tyranny. They gave us the right to vote.

So, no passive celebrating our nation's symbols this July 4th. Instead, let us all actively engage in our nation's founding ideals. We have the freedom to petition the government for redress of grievances. Let's use it. We have the right to peacefully assemble. Use it. We have the right to speak freely. Use it.
Instead of sparklers, Let's light candles to show our support for refugees and others whose rights the government is violating.

Instead of waving flags, let's carry banners and signs that show our progressive stances. Let's *be* the parade as we march for freedom and liberty. And let's set off rhetorical fireworks that all may see and hear we reject the inhumanity and dictatorial tendencies of the current administration.

That is how we honor America's birthday, by acting on the ideals which gave birth to our country.

Two truly awful bills make Texas news

Trying to articulate a response to recent Texas legislative nonsense such as SB9 (no car rides to polls) and HB896 (kill abortion seekers, providers). Not to mention SR535 in which our esteemed legislators on the gop side of the aisle guzzle deeply of Trumpian Kool-Aid. "Why yes sir, Mr. President, sir there is indeed a crisis at our southern border! We gotta keep them brown folks out!"

"Dude, seriously?! WTAF?" is all I have so far. Oh, and a primal scream followed by a string of profanities that would make Gordon Ramsey blush.

After a restorative nap and further research and writing, I learned that
 Hughes, author of the "everybody needs to get their own separate way to the polls" bill, also authored SB1585, whose summary description reads: "Relating to the authority of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to issue permits for the discharge into water of this state of produced water, hydrostatic test water, and gas plant effluent resulting from certain oil and gas activities."
A public hearing will ensue. I vote we carpool (assuming that is still legal) to the Capitol and say collectively, "Hell, no! Do not pollute Texas water!"

Text of the postcard I am mailing to state Sen. Bryan Hughes:
"Dear Senator Hughes,
It appears from you 'election integrity' bill that you are unclear about how our democracy works or what it should look like.
Democracy is a team sport and sacred, joyous duty.
You and your ilk seem intent on suppressing people's right to vote, especially the poor and those of color, in short, anyone but reliably Republican voters who can each drive themselves in their Lexuses to the polls.
I can drive myself to the polls, too. In the coming election/s I intend to bring as many friends and neighbors with me as possible: friends of color, friends who cannot afford a vehicle, friends who want to celebrate democracy together.
Respectfully....."
Please feel free to borrow, adapt, etc. if you care to. I had more to say but ran out of room on the postcard.

So.... been doing a bit of research on the author of HB896, the "death penalty for abortion" bill. He is State Rep. Tony Tinderholt of Arlington. He first introduced his bill in 2017 and was put under "state protection" for "death threats."

This "family values" conservative Republican has been married five times, twice to his first wife and has had a restraining order put against him. Surprise, surprise, he does not take kindly to marriage equality. To him, ye may hitch, unhitch, and rehitch to thy heart's content. Just so long as one of ye'll is an inner, the other an outtie, if you catch my drift.

He is a big NRA fan. 

His Google rating is 1.7 out of 5.

In 2017, he was opposed by a transgender Democratic man named Finnigan "Finn" Jones. Sadly, I do not see any reference (yet!) to anyone opposing him for 2020. Tinderholt has been in office since 2015, four years too long, already.

His district office contact info is:
4381 W. Green Oaks Blvd., Ste. 107
Arlington, TX 76016
(817) 478-5000
and at the Capitol: Capitol Office:
E2.508
Capitol Phone: (512) 463-0624
Capitol Fax: (512) 463-8386
Offered on the offhand chance anyone wants to express an opinion about his bill...

Fortunately, the bill is going nowhere. Texas Rep. Jeff Leach, Republican chair of the House Committee on Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence, told the Dallas Morning News he would not let the bill get through his committee. Whew.

We progressives of Texas and elsewhere must remain vigilant, however, as state and federal legislators keep searching for new and creative ways to suppress voting and deny women reproductive choice.

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Air conditioning needed for survival in Texas prisons

Slowly roasting alive should not be part of the punishment doled out to Texas prisoners, but all too often it is as many state-run correctional facilities lack air conditioning. This means summer temperatures frequently hit 100 degrees or higher in the cell blocks. Night brings little relief as concrete retains heat.

SB321 in the Texas Senate would solve this issue by requiring Texas Department of Criminal Justice facilities maintain a temperature between 65 degrees Fahrenheit and 85 degrees Fahrenheit at all times. County lockups already have to meet this requirement. State Senator Jose' Menendez, D-San Antonio, introduced the bill. The House version is HB936.

This article from the Marshall Project spells out the problems many Texas prisoners and guards face.
At least 24 prisoners have died from heat-related illnesses in the past 20 years, according to research from the Texas Observer. Ten alone died during a heat wave in 2011. And summers have not gotten any cooler since then.

What would this act of decency cost? Some Texas officials put the price at $1 billion. However, this article from the Texas Tribune explains how previous AC installation costs have been significantly less than initial estimates.

Even lower and more realistic cost estimates may be a hard sell for fiscal conservatives. I have three responses. 1. This is not coddling; this is basic humanity in a harsh environment. 2. Wrongful death lawsuits will continue to cost Texas taxpayers until this issue is corrected. 3. Renewable energy like solar power can greatly mitigate those costs.

Prisons in several states are seeing the benefits of solar energy. One example is St. Brides Correctional Center in Chesapeake, VA where solar power saves them $35,000 a year. It is little surprise that progressive California leads in this. The state saves tens of millions of dollars per year thanks to solar panels in at least four prisons. These panels did not cost the state's taxpayers a dime as utility company Sun Edison Corp. paid for the installation and sells the resulting energy to California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation at a discount.

I am not seeing a downside to this approach. Also, couldn't prisoner trustees be trained to do some solar panel installation and maintenance? This would not only save on construction and labor costs but also provide job training for a post-incarceration career.

Prolonged exposure to excessive heat can cause serious health issues, including coma and death for the most severe cases. Lesser but still significant symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke include nausea, vomiting, disorientation, confusion, and fainting. Such symptoms not only stress prisoners both physically and psychologically, but also make correctional officers' jobs even more dangerous and unpleasant. Is that inmate fake fainting to catch a CO offguard or is it a genuine medical emergency? Is that inmate intentionally being insubordinate or is she disoriented?

Lots of concrete and asphalt, poor air quality and a stagnant environment increase the likelihood of heat stroke. This describes Texas prisons. Certain health issues also make people more prone to heat stroke. Such factors include being over 50, mental health problems, being over or underweight, diabetes, high blood pressure, and sickle cell anemia. Many Texas prisoners, whose health care needs are seldom sufficiently met, suffer from at least one of these issues.

We are warned as the weather warms about the danger of locking pets and children in small, stifling spaces, e.g. cars, during the summer. Texas' inmates and COs face similar dangers and it is long past time Texas does the humane thing by ensuring all our correctional facilities can maintain a tolerable temperature between 65 degrees Fahrenheit and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Support SB321 and HB936.
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Congress should follow New Zealand's example on massacre response

The root of gun violence is guns.
Duh.
The simplest and most logical solution to gun violence is to limit access to the deadliest of weapons, such as semi-automatic assault-style weapons like the AR-15. This is the weapon of choice for mass shooters. It does not need to be in the hands of civilians. Period.
Australia figured this out. After a mass school shooting, the nation banned assault rifles. No more mass shootings.
New Zealand just figured it out, too. Hours after gunmen murdered 50 people at two Christchurch mosques, the nation's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Attorney General David Parker announced gun reform legislation, including a semi-automatic weapons ban. Similar legislation has been proposed and rejected before. Not this time.
That is how moral people in authority act in a national crisis.
Not with "thoughts and prayers."
Not with "Now, now, let's not rush to conclusions."
Not with talk of "hardening targets."
Decisive action.
We in America need some long-overdue decisive action from our legislators.
We have suffered too many mass shootings, too many to even count. High schools, college campuses, churches, daycare centers, night clubs, outdoor music festivals, and movie theaters are among the facilities targeted in recent years. The gunman is typically white, male, and armed to the teeth.
Our so-called leaders want us to be afraid of those from outside our country and outside our ethnic demographic, anything and anyone except the actual problem: guns.
In this country, guns are sacred. Our political officials too often value gun rights and NRA dollars over people's lives. That must change.
We must no longer tolerate a "do nothing" Congress on this issue.
It is not a matter of if but when and where the next massacre will happen on American soil. And it does not matter to some who the victims are. They can be children. They can be teenagers. They can be gay. They can be African-American church goers. They can be country music fans. "They" will not convince the American government to end the slaughters.
Only we altogether as the American people can and we must band together now. We must continue to push for gun reform until it happens. We can point to New Zealand as an example of a government that takes needed action. This can be done.
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Bibles, boobs, and John Hancocks

I am a bit of an autograph hound myself so I can understand the MAGA crowd wanting 45's John Hancock. But on your Bible?? On your bosom? Hell, no. That is just wrong on so many counts.

So who was John Hancock and why is his name still American slang for a signature? We late Baby Boomers who grew up in the 1970s with the Bicentennial and Schoolhouse Rock can recite his story in our sleep. Hancock led the First Continental Congress. As such, he was first to sign America's Declaration of Independence. He and the other signatories pledged "their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor" to the cause of liberty from Britain and its tyrannical, mentally unstable ruler (sound like anybody we know?) King George. That signature was a solemn vow to high ideals and and marked the individual for instant death for treason should he be captured by the British.

I have gotten famous musicians to sign their albums and CD covers, and authors to sign their books. I once traded (nerd alert) prizes won at a charity Monopoly marathon with another player. All the various merch I'd won for being first to land on this or that property square for one prize that had evaded me and whose worth was beyond reckoning - an autographed copy of Nicholle Nichols' first autobiography. She played Lt. Uhura on Star Trek. I do not get to many Trekkie conventions so I figured this was as close as I would even get to meeting this incredible woman who has done so much to break down ethnic and gender barriers in TV and science fiction.

Whatever is being signed should have direct relevance or be neutral. An example of that latter: a friend once served coffee to Aerosmith's Steven Tyler. Knowing I am a big fan, she got him to sign what she had on hand for me, a paper napkin. I still have that memento. Would I have rather gotten the autograph by meeting Tyler myself? Sure. But having a friend who knows me that well and serving as a proxy is also great.

Speaking of "proxy 'graphs" I once got members of Pink Floyd to sign a blank sheet of paper for a co-worker who was a huge Floyd fan. I had an autographed picture of the band and was feeling a bit guilty for wanting to keep it rather than give it to my colleague. Anyhow, the drummer even drew big cartoony letters to spell out "Pink Floyd" for said co-worker on that sheet of paper. But that encounter is a long story. Involves a hot air balloon. And migas.

Autograph giving and receiving has an aesthetic, an ethic. For example, only the author or subject of a book should sign that book. I would not ask Nicholle Nichols to sign Star Wars memorabilia or Steven Tyler to sign a Boston album. That is just not cool. Use a neutral stand-in. One final autograph anecdote regarding preparedness and persistence. I once got Ronnie Wood (a Face and then a Stone) to sign a solo album. My thinking: an obscure solo album displays a higher level of fandom than just showing up with the latest Rolling Stones best-selling album. My strategy - waving it at him from the front row of a Dallas solo concert until he finally surrendered his John Hancock between songs.

Newsflash: Donald J. Trump did not write the Bible. Hell, he did not even write "The Art of the Deal." So I join those aghast that the Donald is signing Christianity's sacred foundational text. Get him to sign a MAGA hat for heaven's sake. His hateful policies and rhetoric go against everything the Bible stands for. You know, all that "justice for poor, mercy for the weak, kindness to the stranger" stuff. IMHO those autograph seekers should be opening their Bibles for contemplative reading and not for a maniacal megalomaniac to write on. That is sacrilege.

Writing one's name on something implies ownership, "property of ..." "product of ...." A human being is never the property or product of another human being. I have never understood the practice of women getting rock stars and Hollywood heartthrobs to autograph their breasts. Exchanging one's dignity and bodily autonomy for a moment of fake intimacy with fame? No thanks. A mega rock star might be able to get away with this. An "elected" official should know better than to submit to such optics and the autograph seeker should have more self-worth.

(Here's a piece of paper, Steven. Please sign this piece of paper.....)

The only place I want to see DJT's John Hancock is on a letter of resignation. I would trade a lot for such a document to exist.
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Beto, please run - against John Cornyn

So it is now mid-March and Beto O'Rourke has yet to officially state his intention of running for president, though the popular ex-congressman from El Paso is widely expected to join the already crowded Democratic 2020 field.
I had a Beto sign in my yard last year when he ran against (and was narrowly defeated by) Texas junior Republican Senator Ted Cruz. I even "door knocked" on Beto's behalf. I think Beto is a man of intelligence, charisma, deep moral conviction, and character. He should be in Washington's halls of power.
I hope Beto does not run for president this time, however. That field is already brimming with intelligent women and men of integrity, any one of whom would be an excellent nominee.
Beto's services are urgently needed in the U.S. Senate. John Cornyn, the senior Republican senator from Texas, is up for re-election. As with Cruz, Cornyn's rhetoric and legislative "priorities" clearly show he does not have America's and Texas' best interests at heart. Cornyn continues to provide legislative cover from the Trump administration's misdeeds and immoralities while steadfastly refusing to meet with or engage constituents.
So I am going to plead with Beto O'Rourke. Please, please run for John Cornyn's Senate seat. You have the apparatus in place for an effective state-wide campaign and thousands of eager volunteers waiting to help. (Yours truly included). You came closer than anyone thought possible to unseating Cruz last year. Use that momentum to push through to a 2020 victory in the Senate. Yes, a few other Democrats are mulling a run against Cornyn, according to this Texas Tribune article. They include MJ Hegar, Joaquin Castro, Wendy Davis, and Joseph Kopser. Cornyn reportedly not nervous about any of these. He is nervous about you.
This election cycle is hardly your last chance to run for our nation's highest office. After a term or two in the Senate you would be even more of a powerhouse presidential candidate and you would have provided much-needed ethical leadership as a senator from the great state of Texas.
At least think about it. We'd be so f-ing proud of you.

The number you have McCauled is not in service

Just how "out of touch" is Congressional District 10 Rep. Michael McCaul (R) of Austin? Try calling his Washington, DC, office phone number, the one listed on his official government web page - 202-225-2401. You get this message: "The number you have dialed is incorrect. Please check the number and try again."
This is no momentary glitch. It has been this way for months and has been brought to staffers' attention. It is also deeply symbolic of McCaul's utter disdain for his constituents and the democratic process. A call to the congressman's Austin office often leads to a "leave a message" invitation rather than a live staffer. Sometimes even that option is unavailable as the message box is full.
At midmorning.
On a Wednesday.
Note: Texans trying to reach the correctly listed and technically working DC offices for our state's two Republican senators, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, often get answering machines full from previously answered calls. I know. I call. A lot. I have even resorted to requesting when one office finally answers that they run down the hall and make sure their non-responsive colleagues are OK. Or I tell the Austin office of the MoC I am trying to reach that their DC counterparts are not picking up and that is unacceptable, or vice versa, because that happens, too.
McCaul's in-person record for "presence" is no better. He has not held an open town hall meeting since he took office - in a then-newly gerrymandered GOP district - in a decade. That is 10 years. Instead, he has gotten chambers of commerce to sponsor him for "legislative updates" during election seasons. These events are highly controlled and McCaul gets quite uncomfortable should anyone ask a non-scripted question.
Members of the Indivisible movement have trekked to McCaul's Austin congressional office to personally hand letters to staffers and ask questions. The response is polite yet the congressman never seems to answer the questions posed, week after week after week. He needs to.
This week McCaul announced he is running for re-election in 2020, after just barely getting re-elected in 2018. His Democratic challenger from last year, Mike Siegel, announced Jan. 19 his intention to run against McCaul again in 2020.
Is McCaul going to become any more (read: at all) responsive to constituents' concerns or will he remain intentionally disconnected? We shall see. A working and published DC office phone number might be a good start. Maybe even with a live human at the other end and whose written comments and questions from constituents McCaul actually takes notice of? Nah.... That is just too much to ask. But it should not be.