ustxtxb_obs_1974_01_18_50_00011-00000_000.pdf

Wallace braintruster . It seems that Hall Timanus, the Houston lawyer who shaped George Wallace’s Texas campaign last year, has been called upon to head a national Wallace braintrust. The Wallace people plan to make a push to dominate the 1974 national mini-convention as a trial run for getting the nomination in ’76. And Timanus is heading up their strategy group. What with Robert Strauss heading the Democrats, George Bush the Republicans and now Timanus masterminding the Wallaceites, the time for secession may be at hand. The . Observer offers it congratulations to Abe Dunn of Houston, Stanley Marsh of Amarillo, J. J. Meeker of Fort Worth, J. R. Parten of Houston and Madisonville, Bernard Rapoport of Waco, Frank Thielen, Jr., of Baytown, Charles E. Wilson of Baytown and Sissy Farenthold. They were the only eight Texans listed on the most recently released list of 575 White House “enemies.” John Dean III gave the list to Johnnie Walters, then commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, on Sept. 11, 1972. The instructions were to audit the tax returns of these individuals to make life tough for them. The Joint Congressional Committee on the I.R.S. concluded after a six-month investigation that the I.R.S. did not go after those on the list, however, an unusually large percentage of those on the list did have their returns audited. Farenthold still incorrectly listed as making her second appearance on an enemies list, having been previously honored on a Chuck Colson list. Of course it is disappointing to find that only eight of the 575 are Texans: where is that old “We’re Number One” spirit? Nevertheless, we are proud of our eight. Good going, group! Seven marijuana offenders are home for the new year. Gov . Dolph Briscoe commuted their sentences and State Rep. Ronnie Earle of Austin, who has been working with the governor on the project, says as many as 400 Texas pot prisoners may be released during the next few months. After a resentencing provision written into the new drug law was overturned in the courts, Briscoe promised to commute the sentences of eligible prisoners. Each case must be approved by the State Board of Pardon and Paroles. Social notes. The wedding of Janey, Jr., Briscoe to Whatshisname was a swell do. One big pre-wedding question was whether or not booze would be served by the Baptist Briscoes. Folks, champagne punch was had by almost all. On the attire front, the bride wore a gown designed by Political Intelligence Oscar de la Renta. It was of silk satin and French lace and featured a fitted bodice, high standing collar and long, slim sleeves. The natural wasitline was sashed in silk satin. An overskirt of French lace covered the silk satin A-line skirt with chapel-length train. Her gossamer silk net veil was chapel length. Dolph wore cowboy boots with his cutaway. Oh, really? Operation Candor of the Week Award goes to Atty. Gen. John Hill, who filed for re-election as A.G. while denying, with a straight face, that he had ever so much as remotely entertained the notion of running against Dolph Briscoe. With Hill definitely out of the gubernatorial picture, there was new interest among liberals in getting Sissy Farenthold into the race, mostly likely as an independent Democrat. It is widely agreed that Farenthold would have a difficult time beating Briscoe in the Democratic primary, which always abounds in conservative Republican voters anyway, thanks to the lack of a state party purity law. But in a three-way race in November? With the score the Republicans got against Briscoe last time? T’is the season to sit around and decide whether or not to run for something, and one man who’s already gone over the top is State Rep. Larry Bales, a stalwart reformer. Bales plans to challenge Congressman Jake Pickle of the Bales thinks he’s a tool of Big Oil. Back in the bad old days of the 50’s, Pickle was chairman of the SDEC when it kept refusing to support Democratic presidential candidates. Liberals used to raise money locally with the slogan, “Dollars for Democrats, but Not a Nickel for Pickle.” Pickle has been in Congress for a little more than 10 years now and as far as we know, has never done anything. Since Lyndon Johnson left office, Pickle’s liberal votes are even more rare than they used to be. He keeps a putter \(instrument used in office and gives away dill pickle lollipops and pickle balloons to visitors. Beware the Legion Tyro Senator Attacked! Poor ol’ Lloyd Doggett, who got himself specially elected just last August, was trying to do something nice for his constituents when he introduced a bitty resolution praising the citizens who helped stop Project Sanguine \(see Obs., April 27, past in the form of the Amurkin Legion: the Legion’s Department Adjutant wrote the Austin American-Statesman, “The good senator might just as well learn right now that for every plus there is also minuses … For his information The American Legion. of Texas is solidly in favor of ‘Project Sanguine’ as essential to our national defense . . . The American Legion, you can be sure, will alert the some 3,000 members and their families who live in Senator Doggett’s Senatorial District of the nature of his very first bill as a Senator. Not only this, but all veterans are to be alerted, for they can appreciate what a national deterrent to foreign attack can mean.” Sometimes even your mistakes look good on Dec. 20, television station KPRC in Houston was going a wrap-up about the special legislative session on the 10 o’clock news. The station managed to get the video of our solons confused with the audio from some other segment. As the representatives were shown milling around the House floor, the voice-over said, “These school children all attend the Village School . ..” Jon Ford, the capitol bureau chief who was being moved back to San Antonio by the new Australian ownership of the San Antonio Express and News, has joined the capitol staff of the Austin American-Statesman. January 18, 1974 11