Michael Berry the gift that keeps on giving

If you have not followed the saga about the loud mouth Michael Berry of KTRH,  saga, let me fill you in with a very condensed version of many days of reporting by Steven Dean of KPRC:

Michael Berry was at a gay bar. He left, allegedly drove down a street backwards, hit a car causing over $1500 of damage, left the scene as the owner of the car, who is a bouncer at the club and was standing outside witness the event. Berry then drove around the block returning to the scene (twice) giving other witnesses at the gay bar a chance to ID Berry. Berry left and initially denied he was at the scene, but a video of him at the bar was made available to KPRC. Berry has since hired Dick DeGuerin to defend him against charges that have not been filed against him.

Whew! So today the gift keeps on giving. Michael Berry has offered to pay for the damages to the bouncers car without admitting any guilt. The bouncer seems to be happy to accept the payment if it comes with an apology.  From the Houston Chronicle:

"If that's (letter and check from Berry) an admission of guilt, that's fine," Bennett said. "I just want the apology that comes with it."

Which is the right thing to do by any conservative, you know, take responsibility for your actions and all that crap, but dude, do yourself a favor and don't hold your breath for an apology from Michael Berry.

In other news, the gay bar has created a strong drink called the "Michael Berry". One drink and you want to rear end someone.

Come on Mike, laugh a little and don't be so politically correct.

Harris County GOP defends "One Man One Woman...."

Jared Woodfill, the chair of the Harris County Republican Party sent out an email calling for action against Mayor Parker's support of "Mayors for the Freedom to Marry" movement. From Woodfill:

In Washington DC, Mayor Parker announced her support of same-sex marriages to a group of other Mayors. Parker's stance is unacceptable to Texas voters as we already approved a Constitutional Amendment which supports traditional marriage;  defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman at one time. This would include such well known republicans like Ronald Reagan, our own Lt Governor David Dewhurst, and even Newt Gingrich who is riding his third wife. And God knows how many republicans, like you, call for protecting "The sanctity of marriage" while working on their 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th spouse!

So in between praying and coveting your neighbors wife, please call Mayor Parker today at 713-HYP-OCRT and tell her to support the Constitution and stand up for traditional marriage of One Man, One Woman, at One time.

 OK. That isn't exactly what Woodfill said, but it is what he should have said.

In defense of Michael Berry

(Steven Dean of KPRC has yet another update on the Michael Berry hypocrisy.)

Patti Hart of the Houston Chronicle sort of gives Michael Berry a pass for his hypocrisy:

So I found myself wondering: What Would Bullock Do? The recovering alcoholic, chain-smoking, serial husband would remind us that life's darkest moments offer opportunity for profound change. He'd tell Berry to listen to his lawyer and shut up.

Don't count on any profound change coming from Berry or KTRH. KTRH depends on Michael Berry and all of their talk show hosts to shoot their mouths off, attacking groups of individuals, with extra points going towards Muslims, Democrats, gays, and immigrants. Michael Berry makes money for KTRH and they could care less if he is a loud mouth,  conservative, ignorant, GOP mouthpiece, jackass of a hypocrite because that is a money maker for them. The more ignorant people they can capture, the more money they make.

And don't expect KTRH to do anything about Berry. Even this incredible display of hypocrisy is becoming a money maker for them with Berry recently airing an long drawn out excuse of why he was in a gay bar. According to Berry, from the Houston Press:

Why did I go into a bar? Let me confess: `Cause there was cold beer waiting inside...

Using an excuse of  going to a gay bar for a cold beer is like telling your mom that you bought a Playgirl to read the articles. Yea right. Berry and KTRH probably thinks their listeners are ignorant enough to give Berry a pass on this defense.

And they are probably right.

Calls for Harris County DA to resign have started

The first call for Pat Lykos to resign has been made. From Murray Newman blogging for the Houston Chronicle:

As of this writing, the Lykos Administration has been the subject of not one, but two Grand Jury investigations (one is still ongoing).  One of her administrative prosecutors has invoked the 5th Amendment in a highly publicized move in front of a Grand Jury.  Rather than cooperate with the Grand Jury, the D.A.’s office investigated and intimidated the Grand Jurors in methods eerily similar to the Mafia’s.  A judge is about to appoint the fifth Special Prosecutor to investigate the Office in less than six months.  The Texas Rangers are seen on the news taking computers out of the District Attorney’s Office.

No one should be tolerating her "investigation" of the members of the Grand Jury, especially so called "conservatives" and members of the republican party.. If you have ever had the privilege to serve on a GJ, you might get the stern lecture from Lykos herself amounting to something like "What happens in the Grand Jury, stays in the Grand Jury". And she would not hesitate using the power of her office to indict a member of the Grand Jury if they broke that law.

But I guess she doesn't see anything wrong with using the power of her office to investigate members of the Grand Jury for political purposes. The members of the gop, who Lykos was investigating, doesn't see anything wrong with it either. This doesn't make sense. It's an abuse of the power of her office and it shouldn't be tolerated.

Look for Lykos to lawyer up, just as soon as Michael Berry is done with Dick "I kept Eversole out of jail" DeGuerin.

Michael Berry. That boy ain't right.

In the words of Hank Hill, "That boy ain't right".

What the hell was Michael Berry thinking when he left a gay bar, drove backwards for 70 feet, hit a car, ran away, only to return to the scene, twice? Look, it wouldn't be the first time a loud mouthed, gay hating, chicken hawk, immigrant bashing, conservative, like Michael Berry, would be caught in a gay bar, and it wouldn't be the first time a conservative would get involved in an accident. But for Berry, there had to be more.

First, I bet he was drunk and was afraid the cops would be called so he left the scene. Second, it was a gay bar. If it was just another loud mouthed, gay hating, chicken hawk, immigrant bashing, conservative bar, he could handle any media attention, and probably would look like the good old loud mouthed, gay hating, chicken hawk, immigrant bashing, conservative doing the right thing, exchanging insurance information, apologizing, and taking responsibility for his actions, like most loud mouthed, gay hating, chicken hawk, immigrant bashing, conservatives do.

But this is Michael Berry. And he ain't right.

Berry has since lawyered up to defend him for not doing anything wrong. He has hired Dick "I got paid $800,000 to keep Eversole's ass out of jail" DeGuerin. Look for Berry to weasel out of this mess just like most loud mouthed, gay hating, chicken hawk, immigrant bashing, conservatives do.

I tell you what.

Pat Lykos: Thank God for Michael Berry!

I don't like to revel in one's own demise. Oh....wait, yes I do.......

This entire incident with Michael Berry's alleged hit and run after being in a gay bar has been an absolute godsend to Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos. What could be better than a "prominent", loud mouth, buttwipe, conservative being caught in a hit and run accident to take the focus and cameras off the criminal investigation of her office?

Lykos recently walked out of a press conference after being asked about the Texas Rangers calling for a special investigator to investigate her investigation of Grand Jury members who were investigating her. That is a lot of investigating, but not quite. Now after her office declined to initially file charges, like they would on any other "non-prominent" citizen, they are blaming the police force for not adequately investigating the incident and providing detailed investigative reports to her office.

With all this investigating going on, someone needs to ask Michael Berry the question that is on everyone's mind: What was Michael Berry doing at that time of night driving down the street backwards?

Steven Dean of KPRC has been all over this.

GOP hypocrites on parade: Right Wing radio host Michael Berry

Oh my gosh. I thought Newt was a flaming hypocrite, but now comes Michael Berry. From KPRC:

HOUSTON - Security camera footage from a well-known gay bar has played a key role in a hit-and-run investigation of a former Houston City Councilman, who is now a conservative talk show host, Local 2 Investigates reported on Wednesday.

 Of course, Berry has nothing to say about the incident, but the bouncer at the club does:

Bennett wrote down the license number from the car that he said caused more than $1,500 in damage to his car.  Then, when HPD officers traced that license tag to Berry, the victim said he had no doubt it was him.   

Personally I think Berry is a piece of work. (or something else) During the rush to invade Iraq he couldn't pump his fist in the air fast enough encouraging  the US to invade but couldn't put his hand down fast enough when the Armed Forces needed volunteers.

If Berry goes down flaming, it really wouldn't bother me.

Texas Supreme Court sticks it to Clear Lake

It is hard to feel sorry for the folks in Clear Lake. They continue to vote against their own interests and then complain when the government they voted for puts the screws to them. It's like trying to talk a chicken out of voting for Colonel Sanders. From the Bay Area Citizen:

Interest — at least $491.81 per day — is accruing on a debt to developers that the Clear Lake City Water Authority must pay after a final denial to appeal came down from the Texas Supreme Court on Dec. 16.

The water authority’s board of directors on Monday directed its financial advisor to prepare a bond sale to pay three developers at least $2,271,275 in exchange for water, sewer and drainage improvements constructed in the mid-90s by the developers, Kirby Lake Development, Taylor Lake, Ltd. and Miter Development, water authority attorney Bill Schweinle said. That amount includes interest accrued through Monday, April 2, the date the board has set to pay the developers.

Last week the 9 republicans on the Texas Supreme Court ruled in favor of the developers in a case against the Clear Lake Water Authority. In short, the CLCWA entered into an agreement to reimburse the developers for drainage improvements if (and only IF) the voters of Clear Lake approved it. The agreement was put to a vote and the voters said no, twice. The measure, by contract, failed. End of story. Right? Not exactly.

After losing the vote the developers sued all the way to the Supreme Court and for good reason. Over the last 10 years the TSC has ruled against consumers over 79% of the time. This includes the case involving one of their biggest donors, Bob Perry, and now the case against CLCWA. It was a gamble well worth taking by the developers. From Texas Watch:

“The Texas Supreme Court is an activist, results-oriented body that over the last 10 years has developed into a safe haven for corporate defendants at the expense of individuals, families, and small business owners,” said Alex Winslow, director of Court Watch. “The statistics speak for themselves. The court’s pro-defendant ideology can not be disputed.”

The residents of Clear Lake got what the developers paid for and it will eventually cost them over $3 Million. Look for the chickens to go put the blame on someone else after being served up for dinner.

That is clucked up.

The "Magnificent Seven" of Houston City Council

Houston City Council Member Andrew Burks made an interesting comment about the new members of City Council. After CM Helena Brown was schooled in how to play nice, he claimed the seven were referred to as the "Magnificent Seven" and if you attack one of them, you attack all of them. Here is the video, fast forward to 4:04:




Unfortunately for Burks, someone in the background is giggling when he announced the "Magnificent Seven" probably because no other member of Council, except for Helena Brown, would be willing to label themselves or form an alliance spearheaded by the Ankle Bracelet Crusader.

The real Magnificent 7 was a movie in 1960 staring Steve McQueen and Eli Wallach. Maybe Burks and Brown should consider forming the Misguided Two. What their motive for being on City Council is beyond me, but they sure don't seem to believe in effective government. I was truly hoping Burks would not embarrass the City. I think it may be too late.

Harris County DA Pat Lykos political enemies

According to Harris County DA Pat Lykos, she quickly admitted to initiating an investigation of the members of the grand jury quickly after she quickly denied she ever did.  She believed the investigated they initiated against her office was politically motivated. This doesn't fly unless she believes her own party has targeted her. From Ted Oberg's story:

"This politically motivated investigation -- I would submit to you -- is an outrage, it's an abuse of power and a corruption of the criminal justice system," Lykos said on Tuesday. 

The Judge who empaneled the Grand Jury members, is a republican. The foreperson is a republican activist. Lykos has a republican opponent in the primary. If I had my Googler in Chief investigate the grand jury members, most would probably have a republican backgrounds. (Unfortunately, unlike the DA Googler in Chief, I do not have access to the list of grand jurors) But regardless of their republican political background, it just doesn't make sense.

"I think the District Attorney's Office always wrongly believed that this was politically motivated," said Jim Mount, Grand Jury Special Prosecutor. 

A grand jury has the authority to investigate and subpoena individuals, obviously this includes the members of the DAs office. From experience, I just can't see a group of politically motivated grand jurors using their position within the grand jury to begin a frivolous politically charged investigation. One or more would not tolerate it and would probably leak something to the press to put a very ugly end it.

Blowing the whistle on a grand jury using their positions to investigate their political enemies is more damning than a District Attorney using her position to investigate their political enemies. Unlike the DA, the grand jurors will always lose that game.

Lykos would use her position to guarantee that.

Harris County DA Pat Lykos: I'm guilty and I know it.

I have something interesting to say (for once) about the situation surrounding Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos, but first, sung to the tune "I'm sexy and I know it":

When I walk into court, yeah this is what I see
Everybody stops to try indict me
I got indictments in my pants and I ain't afraid to show it, show it, show it, show it

I'm guilty and I know it
I'm guilty and I know it

The Pat Lykos situation has me thinking. After the Grand Jury ended their investigation of Pat Lykos' office without indictments, Pat Lykos was caught investigating the members of the Grand Jury. Lykos was then caught on camera and off guard  by a reporter asking whether she knew of this investigation which she emphatically denied. Her facial expressions were screaming "HOLY CRAP I JUST GOT CAUGHT!".  See for yourself at the 22 second mark. From KTRK:

It gets worse. A day later after stating she did not authorize an investigation, she sent a letter stating she authorized her "Chief Investigator" to perform an internet search on the backgrounds of the members of the Grand Jury. Her "Chief Investigator" did not perform an investigation, but nothing more than a simple Google. He has since been renamed to "Chief Googler".

And yet the fun doesn't stop. In the letter, the Chief Googler claims that the Criminal Justice blogger, Mark Bennett, had more information about the Jurors than he did. Unfortunately that wasn't exactly true. As Mark Bennett states:

But wait. There’s more. Oberg reports:

Using the confidential list of grand jurors’ names, the DA’s chief investigator looked at Facebook, Google, the state bar and then accessed a county paid for, password-protected database called Accurint—which gave him a list of grand jurors’ addresses, jobs, relatives, bankruptcies, all sorts of information and connections.

And then there is this from the Harris County Criminal Justice Blog talking about Lykos hiring a group of bloggers to shill for her as her PR damage control people, which the Justice Blogger has a very strong opinion about. Take your time to read this post, it is good. Lykos then issues an email to her supporters referencing her shilling blogger's post that kisses her ass and attempts to justify her investigation of the grand jurors. Lykos once again gets caught.

This whole situation is strange. It just screams: I'M GUILTY AND I KNOW IT! And for those who read this far, enjoy:

She must of done something. FBI at Pay Lykos door.

As I have said before, this can't can't be good for Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos. From Ted Oberg of KTRK

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Eyewitness News this afternoon learned that the FBI and Texas Rangers are both questioning staffers at the Harris County District Attorney's Office. 

Lykos needs to come clean on what she did, who she ordered to do it, and exactly what was done. The idea that she actually conducted any kind of investigation, or background search, on any grand juror should raise serious questions. If this happened it is clearly an abuse of power and those responsible should resign and/or be indicted.

It is that simple. Ted Oberg will have more tonight.

Boxing Helena on Houston City Council

Newly elected Houston City Council Member, Helena Brown, is going to be in the news a lot, but not for any good reasons. From the Houston Chronicle:

Houston District A Councilwoman Helena Brown, whose lone "no" votes against city spending have differentiated her from the rest of the 17-member council, also is an outlier as an employer: She is the only council member to hire an entirely part-time staff that gets no health insurance or other benefits.

Brown is not only a Teabag Party favorite, but also one of those Ron Paul Libertarians disguised like a hypocrite. Like most Libertarians, she has a disdain for government, until payday. Libertarians can't yell and scream enough about how bad government is, but are the first in line to cash their government paycheck, demand overtime, demand paid time off for a sick family member, take a paid vacation, and stay healthy with their government provided health care.

On the surface having a part-time staff sounds like a good idea, like most simple minded ideas tend to be,  especially if the staff has the ability to work part time while enjoying health care benefits provided by a spouse. Or they might not even need an income, again living comfortably on their spouses employment, but for the majority of workers, civil service or not, having basic benefits, fair pay, and reasonable hours, is good for the employees, employers, and their families. Unfortunately that is much too hard of a concept to understand for most ignorant and lazy individuals.

Of course Libertarians don't believe in fair pay or play. Employment is a dog eat dog world to them just as long as they are the big dog and have a government provided paycheck.

Look for Brown to give up her salary and benefits in the near future. Just like Ron Paul has done.

:)


p.s. Boxing Helena is a movie released in 1993. According to Rotten Tomatoes it sucked.