God Dem!

My Kind of Cowboy

One of the worst parts of growing older is the acquiescence over the things you no longer believe you can change. At twenty, the paths stretch before you, your energy is boundless and the world is decidedly shiny. You believe with all certainty the mantras of your childhood: you can do it, all things can happen if you do your best, you can be anything you want to be if you try.

A few decades in the workplace strips optimism layers at a time. Focuses shift; it's much less you and your ideals, saving the world pales against saving for college. Three kids in college at the same time? Responsibilities ground dreams, sometimes permanently.

I can't help feeling that while I was distracted, America went to hell.

What happened to the Lone Rangers? Where are the people who are truly upright in their approach to each day? I see regular folks in daily life, people who give back the money if they're given incorrect change, or give a little at the grocery when the guy ahead of them comes up short. For every idiot who drives as if the roads I paid for with my taxes are their personal Indy, there are nice people who let me make a left during rush hour or a quick lane change when I need to. I see kindness to older people, time given in communities, or trash recycled.

Farther up the representational ladder, there's a dearth of do-gooders. I know, I know, politics stink; this is not news. I always felt that in the morass of backroom dealings and back stabbings, there were a few people who actually believed, both in doing the right thing and American principles in general. The tone of the past political year seared belief from me, salted my sensibilities, and abandoned me. It's all corrupt. Deal with it.

The thing is, I love America. I can't stop looking for her just because she's lost. If I could find some help, a little inspiration even, I'd be mighty obliged.

In this year of sin in the name of morality, I found a hero. He may not ride a white horse, but he walks the walk of principle and decency.

Ronnie Earle is my kind of cowboy.

Because the Texas Attorney General's office does not have the authority to prosecute those suspected of committing crimes in their dealings with the state, the responsibility falls on Earle and his band of prosecutors in Travis County, home of the state capital.

It is a responsibility he has embraced, prosecuting 15 high profile cases against Republican and Democratic politicians during his 27 years in office. Many have drawn sharp criticism from both parties.

...Over the years, there have been bills to defund the controversial unit and to transfer its power to the attorney general's office. But the unit has persisted and Earle has prosecuted 12 Democrats and three Republicans - most of them successfully. -- Kris Axtman, Christian Science Monitor

Demanding deeds to suit the words....what a concept. This man must just be HATED in some circles. He's political; he served in the Texas State Legislature. Yet, he's honest. There is right and there is wrong. There is within the law, and there's breaking the law. Low-down skunks, especially political ones drunk with a power elixir that leaves them feeling immune to the rules the rest of the nation abides by, need to fear the long arm of this lawman.

Yet no case has been more important, or controversial, than the one Earle is now pursuing against a political action committee tied to House majority leader Tom DeLay (R) - one of the nation's most powerful politicians.

To Earle partisans, it's an example of his fearlessness in pursuing political malfeasance, a trait they say makes him the state's, and perhaps the country's, top ethics cop. But detractors see the investigation as a witch hunt, another case of the silver-thatched prosecutor acting out of political motivation and for personal gain.

Mr. DeLay calls the Democratic Earle "vindictive and partisan." So far, three of DeLay's associates have been indicted on charges of illegally funneling hundreds of thousands of corporate dollars to state GOP candidates in 2002. The Republican sweep that year fueled redistricting efforts in Texas that deepened Congressional control in 2004. Preparing for the possibility that DeLay might be charged, Republicans in Congress recently voted to change their rule requiring an indicted leader to relinquish his post.

For his part, Earle says the attacks are no different from those by the 15 other politicians he's prosecuted in almost three decades as Travis County DA. All have accused him of being politically motivated. "What else are they going to say?" he asks. -- Kris Axtman, Christian Science Monitor

I know what I'm going to say. Ronnie Earle is restoring my faith in the honest political animal. It's not all corrupt; it's not all crap. It's not so complicated that the average American disengages from the process. (They CAN, but they don't have too.) Morality is part of the American political landscape. It's just not the part we're being sold on. Morality is not paying lip service to God and then seeing how many deadly sins you can commit before breakfast. Morality is in the day to day decision making, morality is in the trenches. Morality is doing the right thing when it's difficult, scary, or puts one at risk.

Ronnie Earle is carefully, methodically following the truth. He is exposing the underbelly of the moral mandate and in the process, giving this American a much needed renewal.

The paths stretch before me again, my energy is recharging and the world has a glint of shine.

Yeeeeeee Haaaaaaa!

posted by Jet @ 5:04 PM