I suspect that most of you have heard that Rand Paul got caught red handed plagiarizing Wikipedia.  Rachel Maddow took him to the woodshed over it and Rand responded by challenging her to a duel.  Or some damn thing.

I guess it never occurred to him to challenge her to fact finding mission.

If I were not a lady and Momma was not watching, I say, “You know that hair on his head?  Plagiarized from his butt.”

Well, it does not stop there.  Now that people are looking, it appears that he plagiarized damn near entire chapters in his book.

An entire section of Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul’s 2013 book Government Bullies was copied wholesale from a 2003 case study by the Heritage Foundation, BuzzFeed has learned. The copied section, 1,318 words, is by far the most significant instance reported so far of Paul borrowing language from other published material.

Now either you’re a libertarian and believe in standing on your own two feet with help from no one or you’re not.  Plagiarism is simply a form of intellectual welfare.

And since his book made money, isn’t that taking from the rich to give to the richer?

Thanks to Rick and Craig for the heads up.

Wendy Davis is moving up faster than a bullet with legs.

Take a lookie right here.

In a head-to-head race, Abbott got 40 percent of registered voters to Davis’ 34 percent, with 25 percent of the voters undecided. In a three-way general election, he would get 40 percent, Davis would get 35 percent and Libertarian Kathie Glass would get 5 percent.

Do you wanna know when was the last time a Democrat in Texas started within single digits?  I don’t know either so it had to be while the earth was cooling.

So, can Wendy Davis win?  Does Howdy Doody have wooden toes?

Thanks to everybody for the heads up.

And by a 45 point margin they said they would stand a salute a “Republicans: We Take the United Out of United States” tee-shirt.

My friend Kary is a theater producer, native Texan, avid Democrat, Vietnam war hero, and highlarious social commentator.  Every now and then I share a Kary story with y’all.  Kary’s job requires him to travel often and stay for weeks on end to get a show ready.  He sends me glorious stories from the road.

He was in America’s heartland this week in Peoria, Illinois, which he describes as “beige.”  He says the people are nice, but …

I have huge issues with the South, as you know…..but, honey …there’s food, grit, fun, crazy, interesting, food, liquor, color and character.  Midwest = BEIGE.

I will stop here and let you know that Kary is not  fan of beige.  Be loud, be obnoxious, be tangerine orange and hot pink, but never be beige.

This trip  —

The Sons of the American Revolution are staying in the hotel. OMG! Old, old, OLD white men….a few walking around dressed in (bad) 1776 drag!  I got in the elevator last night at 11:30 (we work till 11) with an old couple. He was clearly three sheets to the wind. I cheerfully said, “Where you guys from?” He mumbles….”Quad cities”. (Illinois). I said, “Oh, I lived in Linconlshire (Illinois) for 20 years. I live in Maryland now.” He snarls, “People in this hotel are from the government. You from the government?”

“No,”, I cheerfully replied. “But I just got married September the 7th and I AM gay.” The doors opened, and I said, ‘Ya’ll have a REAL nice night, now.” And exited.

Kary taught me the best lesson of life:  if you don’t leave people with their mouths hanging open, you’re not doing it right.

I suspect you’ve heard by now that Texas Attorney General and Republican Gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott got hoisted on his own petard.  In one of those fabulous instant karma moments, the man behind Texas voter ID only got to vote through an amendment passed by Wendy Davis.

Attorney General Greg Abbott, the Republican who’s expected to get the party nod to face the Democratic senator next year, also will have to attest to his identity when he votes, according to campaign spokesman Matt Hirsch.

That’s because, like Davis, Abbott has a different name on his driver license than that on the voter rolls.

On his driver license, he’s Gregory Wayne Abbott, Hirsch said. In the voter registration file, he’s simply Greg Abbott.

Under the law (through an amendment offered by Davis, D-Fort Worth, to the measure she opposed), voters whose recorded names differ slightly in this way can vote if they sign an affidavit.

Were it not for Wendy Davis, Greg Abbott wouldn’t have gotten to vote last week.  Let’s pause for a moment and try to decide if Davis did the right thing or should have kept her mouth shut.

And now there’s this:  90 year old Texas legend and former Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives, Jim Wright, was denied a voter ID card by the department of public safety.

Former House Speaker Jim Wright was denied a voter ID card Saturday at a Texas Department of Public Safety office.

“Nobody was ugly to us, but they insisted that they wouldn’t give me an ID,” Wright said.

The legendary Texas political figure says that he has worked things out with DPS and that he will get a state-issued personal identification card in time for him to vote Tuesday in the state and local elections.

He had an expired driver’s license and a TCU facility ID card, but those things helped him diddle squat.

Luckily, Wright has an assistant and a personal driver to help him wade through the paperwork.  Not many Texas Democrats do.

And that was the whole plan.

Okay, so the rightwing scream machine got a rumor started that the United Nations was going to take over the Alamo if we get it granted World Heritage Status.

And you wanna know who the rightwing blamed for this? Jerry Patterson, the Republican Land Office Commissioner who has control of the Alamo?  No.  Rick Perry, the Governor of the state that runs the Alamo?  Nope.  The Daughters of the Republic of Texas who run the day to day operations of the Alamo?  Wrong again.

The person they blame for this is Mayor Julián Castro, who has nada, diddle squat, nothin’ to do with the Alamo other than he lives in the same city.  They call Castro “a liberal who believes in a global society.”  Plus, he’s the only one they could who has a foreign-sounding last name.

San Antonio, Texas Mayor Julián Castro is currently negotiating with the United Nations to designate the Alamo as a UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site, meaning that a blue UN flag may fly above the historic shrine of liberty once it falls under UN control.

Caca del toro.

Thanks to Maggie for the heads up.