This article about the League of Conservation Voters was previously published in our paper version of the paper, but it bears repeating here as you head for the voting booth. If environmental issues are key in helping you make picks for Congress and Senate, the LCV scorecard is mighty illuminating.:

Enviros Say Doggett Shines, Others ... Stink
Just in time for the November elections, the League of Conservation Voters has issued its voting scorecard for the second session of the 109th Congress (that is, the 2006 session). Unfortunately for environment-minded Texans, it is depressingly similar to previous scorecards.

From Austin Chronicle cartoonist Doug Potter

You've probably seen the ads by 3rd Court of Appeals Place 5 Democratic candidate Mina Brees invoking the name of her famous son, NFL quarterback Drew Brees. Well, you won't be seeing them any longer. KXAN-TV is reporting that son and mother are estranged, and Drew has asked Mina to pull his name from the ads. Brees is challenging Republican incumbent David Puryear.

The Houston Texans may have to come to terms with the fact that David Carr is not the franchise QB that they have been counting on him to be. After re-signing Carr in the offseason and thereby passing up Vince Young, Jay Cutler, and Matt Leinart in the draft, the Texans placed all their hopes in Carr and the tutelage of first-year head coach Gary Kubiak. While Carr's play has improved under Kubiak, he is still prone to turning over the ball, the most heinous sin an NFL QB can commit. Carr turned the ball over three times last Sunday, including a crushing fumble with eight seconds left in the first half that Tony Brown ran 40 yards into the end zone.

Replacing Carr in the third quarter of the Texans 28-22 loss to VY and the displaced Oilers, Sage Rosenfels completed 18 of 25 for 186 yards and three TD passes.

Congratulations to the Rick Perry campaign for managing to call the kettle black in a creative, humorous, and vaguely sexist fashion. Just in time for Halloween, the camp rolled out an interactive Web tour of Grandma's Attic, a lively exploration of Carole Keeton Strayhorn's "secret" records stashed away in the bowels of the state comptroller's office.

The Attic clip got us thinking about all the fun we could have with Perry’s skeletons, too. Oh, if only we had big lobby money to burn on such a venture! If we did, here’s a rough cut of what we’d find in... (cue pipe organ) Perry’s Pantry!

Interactive imagination required below the fold...

The New Orleans Saints typically don’t fare well in games following a bye week. The extra preparation time tends to give both coaches and players just enough rope to hang themselves. Sunday against the visiting Baltimore Ravens, the Saints did everything they could in an all-out attempt to shed their newfound reputation as a surging division leader. Running back Reggie Bush not only coughed up an early fumble, but also threw an interception on a halfback pass play that fooled not a single Ravens defensive player. Quarterback Drew Brees suffered through what Saints fans can only hope was his worst game of the season, throwing not just one, but two interceptions that were returned for 12-yard touchdowns by Ravens defensive backs. Why head coach Sean Payton decided it would be wise to underutilize running back Deuce McAllister in favor of trick plays and ill-advised passes up field only shows that the Saints went into the game with a lack of confidence.

For more on the Saints, UT football, and high school football ...

Seven days of early voting are behind us, and now my early predictions of nearly 50% turnout are looking a little rosy. Thus far, 37,427 Travis County citizens have voted early, including a high of 6,852 on Friday (people shopping for their weekend party snacks?). Another 3,735 ballots have been received by mail, for a total of 41,207, or 7.42% of Travis' registered voters. At this pace, I'd estimate final turnout will be in the 35-40% range. Highest turnout has been at the Randalls grocery at 10900 Research, 4,012 voters; lowest has been, sadly but predictably, in the poorer Eastside neighborhoods that need representation the most.

Early voting is easy, so there's no excuse if you are registered: You may cast your ballot at any early voting location.

A Houston Chronicle/Zogby poll indicates that we pundit/journalist types may have greatly underestimated the intelligence of voters in Congressional District 22. The conventional wisdom has been that Democrat Nick Lampson was a shoo-in because the only Republican in the race is a write-in. That is because even though Tom DeLay withdrew from the race and had his name removed from the ballot, courts ruled that he was nonetheless the nominee chosen by GOP primary voters in May and state party leaders could not arbitrarily replace his name with another Republican. It has been assumed that the write-in campaign of Houston city council member Shelley Sekula-Gibbs wouldn't stand a chance because remembering her name and typing it in would be just too hard. Not so, says the Zogby Poll: 36% support Lampson, but 35% say they'll support a write-in candidate, and most of those write-ins say they will be for Sekula-Gibbs. "Punditry was coloring the district blue," Zogby told the Houston Chronicle. "It's still a Republican district. Even harder than selling a write-in, is selling a Democrat in this district."

Take a look at the BCS Standings. With Oregon State's upset of USC on Saturday, the Ohio State/Michigan game (in two weeks) and this Thursday's West Virginia/Louisville games loom as virtual semifinal matchups. The only real hitch being that West Virginia and Louisville both have games with Rutgers and Pitt. As for the Texas Longhorns, I say they're out of it. Ohio State, Michigan, Florida, Auburn, and Notre Dame will all get in with one loss before Texas will, because of the Longhorns’ weak schedule. Not to mention that they're 112th in the nation in pass defense and don't deserve to be anywhere near the BCS championship game, except, maybe, ironically, to play in Fiesta Bowl One on New Year's Day against Boise State. Enjoy. If I were a Longhorn or a fan, I think I'd rather go to the Holiday Bowl and at least get in some beach time. I will also take this opportunity to predict that Nebraska or Missouri will win the Big 12 championship game, and Texas will end up in the Cotton Bowl against the SEC runner-up. Enjoy.