WaPo calls for clarity from Kerry

This pragmatic Washington Post editorial (free registration required) calls on Senator Kerry to clarify his position on several key issues, including the following:

The most important confusion surrounds Mr. Kerry’s position on Iraq. In 1991 he voted against the first Persian Gulf War, saying more support was needed from Americans for a war that he believed would prove costly. In 1998, when President Clinton was considering military steps against Iraq, he strenuously argued for action, with or without allies. Four years later he voted for a resolution authorizing invasion but criticized Mr. Bush for not recruiting allies. Last fall he voted against funding for Iraqi reconstruction, but argued that the United States must support the establishment of a democratic government.
Mr. Kerry’s attempts to weave a thread connecting and justifying all these positions are unconvincing. He would do better to offer a more honest accounting. His estimation of the cost of expelling Iraq from Kuwait in 1991 was simply wrong; and if President Bush was mistaken to think in 2003 that there was an urgent need to stop Saddam Hussein from stockpiling weapons of mass destruction, Mr. Kerry made the same error in 1998.

Inter Alia’s Internet Legal Research Weekly

Tom Mighell of Dallas is the granddaddy of Texas bloggers. His blog–Inter Alia–is an outstanding source of current information on technological and web-based developments in legal and related forms of research. One item that Tom produces weekly (usually on Sunday) is the Internet Legal Research Weekly, which provides Tom’s insights and helpful links regarding legal and related forms of research. Over the past couple of years, I have obtained more useful information from Tom’s blog and weekly research update than from any other information source. I recommend highly that you visit Inter Alia often and subscribe to Internet Legal Research Weekly. These are special resources.

Houston Symphony announces 2004-05 Season

The Houston Symphony has announced its 2004-05 season. The Symphony has gone through a tough financial stretch over the past couple of years, but it is a class organization and deserving of Houstonians’ generous support. The Symphony plays in Houston’s venerable Jones Hall, which is located in the heart of Houston’s downtown Theatre District.

New Federal District Judge for the Laredo division recommended

Texas senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn have recommended to President Bush that he nominate McAllen, Texas attorney Micaela Alvarez to the U.S. Senate to fill the federal district judgeship for the Southern District of Texas, Laredo Division, that will become vacant later this year when present Judge Keith Ellison transfers to the Houston Division. When he was Governor of Texas, President Bush appointed Ms. Alvarez in 1995 to a state district judgeship in Hildalgo County, but she was subsequently defeated in the 1996 election (Hildalgo County is in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, which is predominantly Democrat). Ms. Alvarez is a 1980 graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and a 1989 graduate of the University of Texas Law School. Between undergraduate school and law school, Ms. Alvarez worked as a social worker, and she has been in private practice in McAllen since 1996.