Welcome to the second annual edition of South by So Real, where we rap with South by Southwest booker and hustler extraordinaire Matt Sonzala about all things hip-hop. If an MC is performing at the festival, Sonzala made it happen. Also, rappers beware: If you see him in the house and you’re rhyming over your CD with vocals, he will throw a bottle at you. After all, “This ain’t fucking Star Search, this is real life!” Bump & Hustle: This is your first full year on the job. Did that make it any easier? Matt Sonzala: Definitely not any easier because my responsibilities quadrupled. I deal with a lot of the bands coming from Europe, not just urban music now. It’s easier logistically in terms of convincing rappers to come down. Last year when we talked I said it was getting better as far as the industry recognizing and wanting to come down but this year everyone wants to come down. I’m really happy with what we have this year. A lot of rappers actually applied on time this year!

Latest Senate update: In floor session, the Democrats briefly tagged the voter ID bill (meaning it would have been delayed for 48 hours), but then withdrew the motion. (CORRECTION: THE TAG WAS NOT WITHDRAWN. Van de Putte tells me it could delay the committee hearing from happening for 48 hours, but "The Republicans will probably find a way to roll us" and get around the tag.) It wasn’t entirely clear whether they even had the power to tag the bill anyway, since the bill is to be discussed by a “committee of the whole” later today and not being debated in an actual floor debate. The Democrats are currently grilling Robert Duncan, who will chair the committee, on what the committee rules will be. They want to know why Attorney General Greg Abbott won’t testify. Duncan says he’s worried about the AG testifying on the bill if he would later have to defend “the people of Texas” in lawsuits if the bill becomes law. Leticia Van de Putte notes that Abbott’s office gave committee testimony on voter ID issues last year. Duncan replies that he doesn’t have the power to compel Abbott to testify; Royce West is currently challenging him on that. Said van de Putte to Duncan: "I’d like to think that we’re past discrimination, but the fact that we have to debate voter ID tells me we’re not there yet."

Another episode another round of critiques from the Queen of Sheen Claudette Murphree, Jenny Schecter-killer Felice Triragoff, and li'l ol' ultra-fey-in-every-way me. Thoughts after the jump!

(Tip of the hat to Quorum Report for bringing this to my attention) Senate Democrats yesterday sent a letter to Attorney General Greg Abbott, requesting that he testify before today's Senate committee of the whole on the voter ID bill, SB 362. The Dems, who want to kill the attempt to require would-be voters to present a photo ID in addition to their voter registration card at the polls, wrote:

As Attorney General, you have taken an extremely active role in your duty to enforce voting laws throughout the state. In March of 2006, you announced a significant effort to stamp out the "epidemic of voter fraud" in Texas. … Three years and thousands of taxpayer dollars spent, it would be instructive for the Senate and public to hear the results of your efforts.

Left unsaid – because they'd prefer it as sworn testimony – is that the $1.5 million dollar investigation of the "epidemic" turned up only 26 cases of minor fraud, all against minorities and Democrats, and 18 were cases of perfectly legal ballots being illegally handled by other parties, but not thwarting the voter's intent. No cases of an improper election result was found, and none of the cases would have been prevented by a voter ID requirement.

This just in: The Austin Aztex have announced that the Major League Soccer champion Columbus Crew will be practicing all week at St. Edward's University, including a Thursday afternoon scrimmage against the Aztex. Here's the full schedule, March 10-14:

Tuesday, 4pm – training session
Wednesday, 10am – training session
Thursday, 2:30pm – scrimmage against Aztex FC
Friday, 10am – training session
Saturday, 7:30pm – exhibition game vs. Aztex FC (Nelson Field)

The Senate "committee of the whole" hearing on SB 362, the voter ID bill, got bumped back from 9am to 10, so I'll give you some warm-up quotes while we wait. To bone up on the issue, I read the Brennan Center for Justice's report "The Truth About Voter Fraud," by Justin Levitt. These two quotes caught my eye:

The voter fraud phantom drives policy that disenfranchises actual legitimate voters, without a corresponding actual benefit.

and

Fraud by individual voters is a singularly foolish way to attempt to win an election.

To dowload the entire report, go here.

Over the weekend, Quorum Report reported that four Senate committees (Higher Education, Veterans Affairs and Military Installations, the Subcommittee on Floodings and Evacuations, and the Subcommittee on Base Realignment and Closure) have canceled their hearings for this week, to make way for the expected mammoth Voter ID session coming up today. In fact, the Senate is running well behind the number of committee meetings it had held by this time last session, and several committees (Agriculture & Rural Affairs, Business & Commerce, Criminal Justice, Economic Development, International Relations and Trade, and Natural Resources) have yet to meet. Only three committees (Government Organization, Higher Ed, and Intergovernmental Relations) have tracked with their attendance record from last session, and only Finance and the subcommittees on Flooding & Evacuations and Base Realignment and Closure have met more often. Guess there must just be fewer bills for them to discuss this year. Full breakdown after the jump.

So if you more or less follow the Legislature, then you are probably aware: Tuesday morning at 9am, the Senate will consider a “voter ID” bill, SB 362 by Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, and Craig Estes, R-Wichita Falls. And you probably realize there’s a lot of hubbub around it. But maybe you’re not clear on the details. Here are the major facts you need to know to understand what’s going down. The issue
• Currently, the only form of identification needed to vote in Texas is a voter registration card. If a voter forgets it – as I did in this past election – then she may present a photo ID or various other forms of identifying documents (a passport, a utility bill, etc.) as proof of identity.
• SB 362 will change that: Now, a photo ID will be required in addition to the voter registration card. Failing that, the voter will need to present the registration card and two of the other types of identifying documents. Failing that, the voter may cast a provisional ballot, to be counted after the voter’s identity is verified.

[audio-1] On the Hust this week, we address the Statesman fanned firestorm enveloping Lee Leffingwell, which started with an article questioning whether he wanted to roll back city economic agreements, and finished with a vicious editorial as the coup de grâce. All this, plus a mind-blowing remix of Carole Keeton Strayhorn's press conference!