More on State Representative Joe Crabb and his driving habits

Former State Representative Joe Crabb was exposed by the Texas Tribune:

Mr. Crabb, Republican of Atascocita, who has a medium-sized district about three hours from Austin, spent $48,405 — including $12,000 on mileage at a 50-cents-a-mile rate. He did not return phone calls for comment.

After reviewing his reimbursement requests to the Texas Comptroller, I wouldn't return phone calls either. According to public records (you can view them here)  Crabb has been paid $480,000 over a 10 year period. This includes $127,000 in mileage which would equate to nearly 300,000 miles. A total of over $36,000 from 2003 to 2010 was also reimbursed to Crabb from his campaign account for mileage.

30,000 miles per year is about 150 round trips from the district to Austin every two years. Considering  the Legislature only meets 6 months every two years requiring at most 24 round trips, 150 trips seems to be excessive.

This is an incredible amount of money over a 10 year period. The $127,000 in mileage alone makes it hard to believe this is a legitimate expense, but unless the District Attorney's Office is willing to investigate, nothing will ever be done about this. The Texas Ethics Commission has proven to be nothing more than a corruption protecting agency. The most they would do is slap Crabb with a fine and issue a finding that would give the DA an excuse not to investigate.

According to the AP, the DA is expanding their investigation into double dipping. Maybe this will include going Crabbing.

Tx Republicans: Teachers can do janitorial work too

In an effort to fix a $27 Billion budget gap, created by the republican leadership, Florence Shapiro, R-Plano has suggested giving the districts the power to furlough teachers. From the Houston Chronicle:

“One of those burdens that we have placed on our school districts is that they cannot decrease your salary. They can’t have furlough days. It’s not allowed in the law. The only option is to fire,” said Shapiro. “We need to give them the ability to lower teacher salaries.” 

For the ignorant, this might sound like a good idea, but for those willing to dig a bit deeper, Muse has some good information from the inside, including a musty mop across the face of Shapiro:

Republicans put this budget disaster on track with deregulation and tax cuts beginning in 2003, and their solution is to cut the pay of already low paid teachers? This is starting to remind me of an abusive marriage where the husband cheats on his wife and she is treated like its her fault, so she stays quiet and puts up with it. "Well, it's better than being poor and being out on the streets." That sort of thing. The fault of this lies squarely on the shoulders of Republicans, yet teachers are supposed to take less pay and thank a Republican for not taking all of their pay?

How else can the republicans fix their mistake? Look for them to suggest that teachers can mop floors and clean bathrooms just as well as the janitors. They can mow the football fields too. And wash the football players uniforms.

Don't laugh. Given the incredible stupidity of the members of the republican party, they just might do it.

Paying back campaign cash: Dan Flynn

Nothing says "I'm guilty as sin" as refunding $15,790 to your campaign account after an "audit", ie, after an Associated Press reporter discovered you were double dipping. From State Representative Dan Flynn's latest ethics report:

CRED,K,6,IND,Flynn,Dan,,,PO Box 669,,Van,TX,75790,20101231,15790.28,Reimbursement of Officeholder Account from Audit 

Flynn, a self proclaimed Christian and financial expert, claims he was out of town too much to realize that charging $15,000 worth of travel to your campaign account and also to the Texas Comptrollers Office was considered stealing, as in the VIII commandment. But now that Flynn has come to Jesus with $15,000 in hand asking for forgiveness, the Travis County DA's office is looking deeper. From the not so deep Houston Chronicle:

AUSTIN, Texas — Prosecutors have expanded a criminal inquiry into Texas lawmakers' double-dipping on expenses after one representative said he was auditing his spending practices and then repaid his campaign more than $15,000, an official told The Associated Press on Thursday.

And it is getting worse, not for Flynn, but for everyone else:

The "review has expanded to include other members that have engaged in conduct similar to Driver's," the official said Thursday.

For those who will be probed, and there are a lot of you, you can thank your "tough on crime" buddy, Dan Flynn. Enjoy.

WTF: Sarah Palin becoming the political skank of the Tea Party

My apologies to the true skanks of the tea party.

Ignorance vs Intelligence. Bachmann gets teabagged

Before you buy that Bob Perry Home......

You might want to think about what could happen to you if the foundation of your new Bob Perry home fails. From the Star Telegram:

In 2000, Bob and Jane Cull sued Perry Homes and a home warranty company to get structural and foundation problems fixed on their 1996 home. In 2002, an arbitrator awarded the couple $800,255. Perry Homes appealed to the Texas Supreme Court, and the case was sent back to trial.

Perry appealed the arbitration ruling all the way to his Supreme Court after all lower courts refused. For most people arbitration is final and unappealable as arbitration is advertised to be, but not for Bob Perry. His Supreme Court buddies ordered the arbitration to be set aside and both were ordered back to a courtroom.

The Culls, the elderly couple who bought the home, was awarded $48 Million and will probably die before Perry pays one single dime.

So think about that the next time you buy a new home from Bob Perry, or any Texas homebuilder.

Rick Perry's $40 Million impact to CCISD funding

This just can't be good.

The funding impacts to school districts due to the fiscal mismanagement of the republican party in Texas are beginning to leak out. Austin Independent School District is facing a $100 Million shortfall. HISD, a $200+ Million shortfall, and here locally, CCISD will face a $40 Million shortfall. (according to a good friend of mine)

This is a huge, just simply huge, and it is going to hurt a lot of people. People will lose their jobs during a period of high unemployment. Expect most of the cuts to come out of the High School budgets. Or course football will not be touched but band, cheer leading, orchestra, and anything arts related will see big cuts or complete elimination.

According to republicans, in time of need, we don't need musicals, or kids learning to play instruments, or acting, but we do need kids who can catch a pass or throw a baseball just as long as they are male. If more cuts are needed, look for women's sports to get the axe first. (and world history teachers)

Maybe the parents of these kids, and the kids themselves, will finally realize what a mess Rick Perry has made over the last ten years. My bet is that they don't. As I have said before, Rick Perry is calling on all republicans in CCISD to man up and quit like good conservatives and get off the tit of the government.

I doubt any of them will volunteer.

Voter ID: When white folks can't vote

The republican party has mastered the power of ignorance. Unfortunately digging no further than the surface on issues as important as voter rights has unwanted consequences especially for White folks. For instance during the debate on the Voter ID bill:

Sen. Zaffirini produced a large-sized version of a man’s Texas driver’s license, with the personal info blocked out. She told her fellow senators this was a current license belonging to someone on the Senate floor and invited everyone to “guess who”. There were no guesses, so Sen. Zaffirini revealed the license belonged to her chief of staff, known to all the senators and seated right next to her.

So in a rush to shut the doors on those illegal immigrant voters that don't exist, the Voter ID bill, if not struck down by the Department of Justice, might keep the white folk from voting because they don't look like their drivers license picture.

For example, if State Representative Debbie "Skeletor" Riddle walked in with her ID in hand, I would walk her skinny white ass right out the door and billy club her for impersonating a human being. Or if Senator Tommy "Bullfrog" Williams would waddle in, I would waddle his fat ass out and let him billy club Riddle just for good measure.

This is what happens when you live in ignorance with your head up your skinny/fat ass.

A message from Congressman Pete Olson

Dear Friend,

Over the last decade under a Republican President, the Republican controlled Congress spent our way into a painful recession by increasing our national debt by a staggering $5.3 trillion dollars., starting unnecessary wars, eliminating protections from Wall Street scams, and doling out tax breaks for  billionaires.  The amount of national debt racked up in that short 8 year period  under Republican control is actually higher than the entire national debt accumulated in the previous 220 years of our nation’s existence. This is both dangerous and irresponsible.  

This reckless spending  by the Republican controlled Congress threatened to further suffocate private investment and cripple an already fragile economy.  Last November, voters sent a clear message to Washington to cut federal spending and put the very people who caused this problem back in control of Congress, the Republican Party.

Tonight, as the President addresses Congress and the nation, he will attempt to walk a fine line trying to address  the reckless mismanagement by the Republican Party while simultaneously promoting his view of how to spur job creation.  When conservatives talk about “tax breaks” they usually mean breaks for those making millions, not those making a living. We cannot afford this approach for one more day.  In a recent CBS poll, 77% of Americans said they want us to keep our hands off Social Security and Medicare. We do not intend to listen.

The State of Texas, also under Republican control for the last 10 years, has a massive $27 Billion budget  hole. Because of this mismanagement Texas families are going to suffer. Tens of thousands of teachers will lose their jobs and the ripple effect will be devastating to the Texas economy which will then call for more tax cuts to the corporations and wealthy.

Since Republicans took control, we have protected our access to government provided health care provided by your tax dollars. For me, that was a very special vote since I have a pre-existing heart condition. Your tax dollars will pay for my insurance, my pre-existing condition, and will protect me even after I leave Congress.

As for everyone else, we voted to repeal Insurance Reform. Pre-existing conditions will now be optional. Insurance will be available only if you can afford it, and God help you if you get cancer, or a heart condition like mine.

If you have any Texas sized suggestions on ways that Washington can reduce wasteful spending I’d love to hear from you, but just remember how we got here, who got us here, and keep your filthy hands off of my socialized medicine.

With Respect,
Pete "Sucker" Olson

The power of ignorance: Voter ID Bill

Leave it to the republican party to leave their voters in a pool of their own ignorance concerning a Voter ID bill.. From the Houston Chronicle whose  research on the issue is about as deep as their research on WMDs in 2003:

"While in this room it may be partisan, in the state of Texas I don't think it's partisan. It's a vote integrity issue," said Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock.

Duncan, in order to keep his base ignorant, could have said something stupid like "you need a ID to go to the movie, or drive a car, why not for voting?". For those who want to look no further than their nose in a cross eyed gaze, this "vote integrity" issue crap is enough to demand action. For others it takes just a few seconds to realize the republican party is simply using you for their own personal gain.

• For the ignorant, it doesn't matter that the Texas Attorney General spent $1.4 Million on a voter fraud investigation resulting in being a fraud in itself.
• For the ignorant, it doesn't matter that there has been little if any substantiated reports of voter fraud at the polls. (there has been voter irregularities with mail in ballots by the elderly, something a Voter ID bill will not resolve)
• For the ignorant, it doesn't matter that in order to stop the non-existent problem of voter fraud at the polls, they will risk dropping an estimated 250,000 elderly eligible voters from the rolls who do not have a picture ID.
• For the ignorant, it doesn't matter that it will cost millions of dollars that the state does not have in order to provide eligible voters with a government furnished ID.
• For the ignorant, it doesn't matter that there are more pressing matters such as the $27 Billion hole in the budget, created by the republican party, they don't want you to worry about.
• For the ignorant, it doesn't matter that the republican party is using them in order to suppress the vote just to keep them in office.

You have to hand it to the republican party. They have harnessed the power of ignorance.

Time to close Brazosport College, Lake Jackson

Right in the middle of republican central, Brazosport College in Lake Jackson is on the chopping block due to republican mismanagement of the State. Facing a $27 Billion shortfall created by the republican controlled Legislature, Brazosport, Odessa, Frank Phillips and Ranger community colleges could lose funding. From the Houston Chronicle:

"It’s a very, very serious concern for us, but we’re firmly convinced that we have a story to tell," she said, "and we’re focusing on our future."

Yep, I think they are a bit late to be "focusing on our future". Lake Jackson is represented by republican Senator Mike Jackson and republican Dennis Bonnen. Both were elected with wide margins when opposed and both are directly responsible for the $27 Billion shortfall requiring the closing of Brazosport College. Instead of focusing on fiscally conservative principles the voters in the area elected fiscally retarded legislators.

And now they should pay for it. Lake Jackson voters bought the "less spending and smaller government" crap, so they should be the first to live by it. You have not learned your lesson after 10 years of republican rule. You watched as your country and state went from record surpluses to record deficits, from prosperity to the brink of a depression, and yet you put the idiots responsible for this back in charge. It's like putting a child molester behind bars, then putting them in charge of childcare security.

Obviously you are ain't learning nuttin in Lake Jacksson. It is time to close Brazosport College.

Gene Cernan. We sent idiots to the moon

Who in the hell is Gene Cernan? According to Gene, writing on Congressman Culberson's website:

Hardly a day goes by without a young 30, 40, or even 50 year old (teenager or younger during the days of Apollo) thanking me for the inspiration I gave him or her to become a scientist, engineer, teacher, technician or perhaps a member of our country’s Armed Forces.

Earth to Cernan. Hardly a day goes by that someone wonders who the hell you are and why you are opening your pie hole about the space program. The overwhelming vast majority of Americans couldn't name the lunar module commander for Apollo 11, or the last person who walked on the moon. (That would be you)

Somehow something that happened in the early 70's has some significance now in 2011. Most probably it means nothing, but having a semi-almost-could-have-been-famous-astronaut making wild ass comments about the current space programs might give Culberson a smidgen of intelligence.

Earth to Culberson. It ain't working. You are still dumber than a moon rock.

Rick Perry Asks Republican Voters to Quit Their State Jobs

Governor calls on Republican voters to resign from State Government.

"It is only fair that teachers and state employees who voted Republican should be the first to lose their tax funded jobs."

Monday, January 25, 2011  •  Austin, Texas  •  Press Release

Today Governor Perry called upon the voters of Texas who supported his agenda of less spending and small government to help achieve this goal by voluntarily resigning from public service. "I am calling on voters who put the Republican party in control over the last 10 years to leave their state funded job and transition into the private sector." said Perry at a press conference.

Perry continued, "Under the fiscal management of the Republican Party, Texas is facing a massive $27 billion shortfall requiring deep cuts in education and services provided by the State. Real conservatives, those who put us into office, such as Republican teachers at Galena Park ISD shouldn't  be caught dead suckling on the tit of the government while calling for more tax cuts."

It is estimated  over 9000 state employees will lose their jobs over the next few months and tens of thousands of education positions will be eliminated as a result of $9 billion in cuts to education. Republican voters who work for the State and take Governor Perry's challenge would help their party resolve the budget disaster they created.

"It is only fair that  teachers and state employees who voted Republican should be the first to be lose  their jobs. If they were truly conservatives, they would act as such and resign," stated Governor Perry's chief of staff.

$9 Billion in cuts for education, $60 Million for a football stadium

It just doesn't make cents. With tens of thousands of layoffs because of a $9 Billion cut in education funding, Texans  don't mind spending $60 Million on a high school football stadium. From the Texas Tribune:

This is Allen High School, home of the Eagles and a study in bigness: a 5,000-student campus, with a 650-member marching band, the nation’s largest, supporting a football team that draws 8,000 fans to away games. And now — the pinnacle of the community’s collection of suburban spoils — Allen will break ground on an 18,000-seat palace of a stadium. Though only the fifth-largest high school football stadium in Texas, it’s the largest that will be occupied by a single team. Of course, it carries a big price tag: $60 million

So while we cut our teaching staff and increase the size of classrooms, we can at least feel better knowing that a high school football team will have their very own $60 Million stadium to play games in.

Welcome to Texas. We may not know how to read, but we sure do know how to play football.

Blogger shoots mouth off then reloads underwear

This is almost funny. From Raw Story:

A Boston-area blogger who declared "one down, 534 to go" after the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has had his gun license pulled and a "large amount" of weapons removed his home.

Instead of taking Sarah Palin's recommendation of "reloading", this blogger loaded his underwear when the Feds raided his home and business investigating what they considered a credible threat. This guy's blog had pages of comments in support of his stupidity and he continued to flame the fires with his cute little comments like "1 down, 534 to go", but now, it is gone. Raw has more of his comments:

Corcoran reportedly declared on his blog, “It is absolutely, absolutely unacceptable to shoot indiscriminately. Target only politicians and their staff and leave regular citizens alone.”

In a Twitter exchange with reporter Laura Leslie, he declared, "As per the Declaration of [Independence], when a [government] becomes destructive those ends, it may be abolished ... and the most moral approach is that which spares the maximum number of lives. Thus, assassination is a legitimate tool."

They believe in communism," he said. "They believe and have called for a revolution. You're going to have to shoot them in the head. (Oh wait, that was Glenn Beck)

Next stop? My bet is that this loon will end up as a media star for Fox News and an icon for gun nuts across the country, but right now I bet Corcoran is thinking twice about his stupidity.

And looking for a new pair of underwear.

After 10 years of republican rule this is what you got

Much like what they did to the United States the republican party in Texas has left us with a $27 Billion shortfall second only to California. The fiscally responsible midgets have left Texas much like they left the United States and it is going to cost us:

• The GOP leadership deficit costs our communities in a big way – thousands of jobs could be cut, and each job cut has a multiplier effect of 2.5 jobs lost.
• By cutting services, the Republican-led legislature will create unfunded mandates for county governments. Taxpayers will be forced to pick up the tab via higher property taxes in order to fund their local police departments, hospital districts, and schools.
• The threat posed by the GOP leadership deficit is a generation of Texans who won’t get the education they need today to prepare them to compete for the good jobs of tomorrow’s global economy.
• A majority of Texans oppose cuts in education and health care funding, but Perry and the GOP refuse to tap a $9.4 billion Rainy Day Fund to help avoid those cuts.
• Texas Democrats will demand an honest accounting for the price Texans will pay for damage done to our communities and our future by the GOP leadership deficit. 

Frickin idiots. I would trust a convicted child molester with the keys to a daycare before trusting another republican with my money.

An ethics bill that will never pass in Texas

The Republican party has had complete control of the State since 2003 and not one single worthwhile bill concerning ethics has been passed into law. Two years ago a comprehensive bill HB3178 filed by State Representative Senfronia Thompson to overhaul the powers and punishment issued by the Texas Ethics Commission received a hearing and nothing else. I doubt an ethics bill by State Senator Seliger's will go anywhere either. From Capitol Annex:

State Senator Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo) filed Senate Bill 371 yesterday to eliminate retirement annuity payments to members of the Legislature and statewide elected officials who are convicted of felonies arising directly from the official duties of their elected offices.

Thompon's bill would have required fines doled out by the Texas Ethics Commission to be paid from the personal funds of the elected officials, a pretty common sense change. Seliger's bill sounds like common sense also, but why did it take 8 years for the republicans to file this?

Needless to say, some State Representatives facing criminal investigations, Harper-Brown, Joe Driver, and others may not want this bill to pass.

Congressman Pete Olson opts for socialized medicine

Note: Congressman Pete Olson has a pre-existing condition which requires the use of a pacemaker. Lucky for him, his government provided health care, paid for by taxpayers, covers per-existing conditions. He is free to change policies without fear of being denied coverage or dropped. And if he retires from Congress, he will have his insurance protection for the rest of his sorry ass life.

Olson is a true believer of the "free market" yet declined to give up his socialized medicine. Each session Congress Members have the option to decline the government provided health care, but Olson declined to decline.

The rest of his district is not so lucky. Here are the impacts to repealing the Affordable Healthcare Act to CD 22:

• Allowing insurance companies to deny coverage to 153,000 to 405,000 individuals, including 13,000 to 61,000 children, with pre-existing conditions.
• Rescinding consumer protections for 578,000 individuals who have health insurance through their employer or the market for private insurance.
• Eliminating health care tax credits for up to 13,400 small businesses and 143,000 families.
• Increasing prescription drug costs for 6,300 seniors who hit the Part D drug “donut hole” and denying new preventive care benefits to 76,000 seniors.
• Increasing the costs of early retiree coverage for up to 7,900 early retirees.
• Eliminating new health care coverage options for 5,600 uninsured young adults.
• Increasing the number of people without health insurance by 92,000 individuals.
• Increasing the costs to hospitals of providing uncompensated care by $50 million annually.

Scam or not? Breast Cancer Support Foundation

Suggestion: Before donating to an organization, ask how much of your donation is for overhead and how much will actually go towards the charity.

I asked the person who called asking for a donation for the Breast Cancer Support Foundation. (no website available) They claim to provide funds to help those with breast cancer with their house bills, unfortunately for every $100 that is donated, only $20 actually helps the patient. $80 goes to overhead including paying people to make calls to raise money.

Needless to say, I didn't donate a dime. I've written on these types of collection agencies before including God Bless Charities, and the Texas State Troopers Association. Do yourself a favor and donate to a real charity that gives 80% of your donations to those who really need the donation.

Rotten bastards.

Bob Perry's $6.4 million investment in the Texas Capitol

Bob Perry, the home builder, made a $6.4 Million investment in the Texas Capitol in 2010, not in the physical structure of the Capitol, but in the political structure, and it paid off. Unlike in 2009 when Perry was slapped around by the Senate by dismantling his personal Texas Residential Construction Commission, Perry will now be able to reclaim his rights to the "Owners Box" on the floor of the House. The House is his.

In 2010 alone, Perry donated over $1.8 Million to Rick Perry who will talk tough against the immigrants who build homes in Texas, without doing anything to disrupt those who hire the immigrants who build homes in Texas.

Perry has his boy to lead this effort, Larry Gonzales, a Hispanic rookie republican who will see to it that Perry's ideas for immigration will be fulfilled. Perry dropped $330,000 into Larry's campaign along with another $500,000 from Texans for Lawsuit Removal, accounting for over half of all his contributions.

Perry, a Baptist, obviously loves corruption and donated $70,000 to Linda Harper Brown and $20,000 to Joe Driver, both under investigation for double dipping from the tax payers.

Other big winners include Texas for Lawsuit Removal for $350,000, $150,000 for Greg Abbott, $300,000 for his HILLCO PAC, and $85,000 to seal his investment for immigration reform to the Hispanic Republicans of Texas.

Yep. Perry and his home boys should protect his investment in the building industry.

The power of ignorance: Repealing insurance reform

The New York Times had a great article about the Republican's plan to kill insurance reform on behalf of their donors:

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that repealing the reform law would drive up the deficit by $230 billion over the first decade and much more in later years. 

And there is more. Luckily the repeal of affordable health care bill has no chance of passing, but  if the republicans gain enough power to slowly kill off your grandmother or your sick child here is what will happen:

• Insurance companies can deny coverage to children with pre-existing conditions
• They can rescind a policy after a person gets sick. (cost of treating cancer will bankrupt a family)
• They can set a cap on what they can pay. (cost of treating cancer will bankrupt a family)
• They can deny coverage to adults with pre-existing conditions
• They can throw your kid off the policy at 21 even if they can't find insurance 
• They can spend as little as they want of your premium on actual health care cost.
• Drops 32 million from insurance
• Opes the Medicare donut hole again created by the republican congress
• Drops the 50% discount for drug prescriptions for seniors
• Illegal immigrants would not be eligible for Medicaid, just like they were not eligible for Medicaid last year, last decade, and last forever. (again, never underestimate the power of ignorance)

But, don't worry about Congress. Their insurance plan that you buy for them with your taxes stays with them even after they retire. They are protected from pre-existing conditions. They are covered for the rest of their lives. And it costs them only 30% of the actual premium.

Suckers.

Carol Keeton McClellan Rylander Strayhorn on the $27 Billion gap

Carol Keeton McClellan Rylander Strayhorn found vindication in the $27 Billion shortfall in the Texas budget created by the fiscally retarded Texas GOP. From the Houston Chronicle:

AUSTIN — Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn did not win friends five years ago when she warned Gov. Rick Perry and state lawmakers they were writing the "largest hot check in Texas history" during a tax overhaul that resulted in lower property taxes and a revised business tax. Strayhorn told them their plan would fall about $23 billion short over a five-year period. Now, five years later, state leaders are staring at an estimated budget shortfall of nearly $27 billion over the next two years.

Game. Set. Match.

Rylander deserves a lap about the capitol but she shouldn't forget she was once part of this problem. Back in 2002 she estimated the budget gap to be just $5 Billion, a workable amount, but just after the election, our publicly funded accountant announced she had made a little mistake. The real gap was over $10 Billion.

Rylander has as much right to point fingers as a drug addict complaining about losing the war on drugs. The stench of republican fiscal mismanagement and hypocrisy overwhelms this state.

Compromise is not a dirty word

Picture Perfect Palin

Stephen Sweny draws it like it is:

The stench of Eversole's corruption not endorsed by everyone

While the Harris County republican party's nose is firmly stuck up Commissioner Eversole's wallet, the Greater Houston Coalition for Justice is calling for him to step down. Indicted on two felonies and receiver of the largest fine in the history of the Texas Ethic Commission, Eversole continues to be defiant. From a story by KTRK here is my favorite line from Eversole concerning $100,000 in gifts:

"They were not gifts. They were no gifts," Eversole told us earlier this week at commissioners court. "I know the difference in a gift, a bribe, the sale of an item. I know all those things, Wayne, and you'll see that at the trial."

This coming from someone who spent over $160,000 of his donor's money on golf, coffee, cattle, antique western chaps, books, and art, guns, and membership to a health spa. (full list of items here) So he is telling the FBI that he knows the difference between a gift and a bribe, but he can't seem to know the difference between stealing from his donors and appropriate use of campaign donations?

Have some more rope Jerry. From KTRK:

Eversole's stench of corruption endorsed by the GOP

This doesn't surprise me a bit. Harris County republican Party chair, Jared Woodfill, didn't have much to say about Harris County Commissioner Jerry Eversole's indictment or his record setting fine from the Texas Ethics Commission. I've written about it in the past here:

So, why has the Harris County Republican Party, the party of ethics and conservative values been so quiet about this? There are 19,000 reasons. In 2009 Friends of Jerry Eversole donated $19,000 to the HCRP. To top this off, Eversole donated $1000 to the Chair of the HCRP, Jared Woodfill who is being challenged by 3 others for the chair. Jared has refused to comment on Eversole's situation. Cha-Ching!

And KTRK has more about the Cha-Ching:

"It's called a war chest," Eversole said.

He gave $4,000 from that war chest to the Jared Woodfill reelection campaign and $51,000 to the Harris County Republican party since Eversole said he expected to be indicted. But the party says it wasn't to buy favors. "Absolutely not. Absolutely not," said Woodfill. 

Yea. right. Ethics, smethics. Nothing like a wad of dough to wash out the stench of corruption. Looks like the republican party is still the same old republican party of Tom DeLay. Here is the story from KTRK:

The attack on Hispanics in Texas begins

Texas has a $25 Billion budget hole. We rank last in many indicator in education, environment, consumer protection, and first in such prestigious categories as high school dropout and teen pregnancy. So what is the Governors top priority? Ending sanctuary cities.

Perry on Tuesday flagged two bills as emergency priorities. Neither of them deals with the budget. One of them focuses on cracking down on so-called “sanctuary cities” in Texas. He would not say what those cities are, nor would he say how that state would determine if a city is a “sanctuary city.”

Back in 2006 the anti-immigrant racist crowds of Houston led by City Council Member Shelley Sekula Gibbs, attempted to require Houston City Police to demand proof of citizenship from those of color cited  for minor traffic infractions. (What Perry wants) This effort was opposed by groups all across the City, including the Hispanic Caucus of the Texas Republican Party who led the effort to raise money. This died a slow death after intelligence took over.

Unfortunately intelligence is not what Rick Perry is all about. Remember he was able to capitalize on the power of ignorance and will continue to stroke this all the way to the White House. At the time City Council Member Carol Alvarado, now a State Representative, had this to say:

She noted that the police department investigates the status of people arrested on serious misdemeanors and felonies, and then reports immigration violators to federal authorities.

Alvarado also said residing in the country illegally is typically treated as a civil offense, and she questioned the wisdom of getting city officers involved.

"I don't think it makes sense to take our police officers off the streets from chasing real criminals, who are committing real crimes, and send them on some witch hunt," she said.

 Wonder what Bob Perry and Rick Perry homebuilder buddies think about Perry's attack on their workforce?

Texas republicans are officially fiscally retarded

Well chalk up another screw up by the fiscally retarded republican party of Texas. From the New York Times:

Wasn’t Texas supposed to be thriving even as the rest of America suffered? Didn’t its governor declare, during his re-election campaign, that “we have billions in surplus”? Yes, it was, and yes, he did. But reality has now intruded, in the form of a deficit expected to run as high as $25 billion over the next two years. 

Today State Comptroller, Susan "Head in the sand" Combs, estimated the deficit to be $27 Billion claiming "I had no fuckin' idea the deficit was going to be this high!". (actually her exact words were something more incredibly stupid.) From the Texas Tribune:





So in the 12 years or so the republican party has been in charge of Texas, we continue to have devastating deficits, we have the highest drop out rate in the nation, highest insurance rates in the nation, highest number of uninsured in the country, highest high school pregnancy rate in the nation, electricity rates that have doubled, college tuition has doubled, little if any consumer protection, and the list goes on and on.

Two years ago Rick Perry looked into the camera and asked "I'm proud of Texas, aren't you?".

No I am not. You and your party really fucked this state up.

A prayer for the 82nd Texas Legislature

A prayer by the Republican party for this years Texas Legislative session: 

Oh lord, let us prey.

Let us prey on the weak

For they cannot fight us

Let us prey on the poor

For they cannot buy us

Let us prey on the elderly

As we strip them of their dignity

And let us prey on the less fortunate

As we show them no pity.

This is Texas. Our Texas.

It’s not for the poor, or the weak,

The elderly or the meek.

In your name we will prey.

It's not time to blame both sides

The talking point memo has already been posted and followed. "Blame both parties for the vitrol in politics.". Here is Boehner, Speaker of the House from the NY TImes:

Top Republicans including Speaker John A. Boehner and Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona quickly condemned the violence. “An attack on one who serves is an attack on all who serve,” Mr. Boehner said in a statement. “Acts and threats of violence against public officials have no place in our society.”

It is easy to condemn the violence after the violence has occurred. They did it back in the 90's after the Oklahoma bombings by Timothy McVeigh and then went back to the microphone to demonize their opponents. It didn't take long because their simple minded audience demanded it. This is what they live for. This is what brings ratings.

And what has Boehner done about it? What did the leadership do about those who demonized immigrants and their children, Muslims, and anyone who disagreed with them? Did they demand civility when people called for "reloading", holding fundraisers with machine guns, urging so-called "patriots" to opening carry weapons to a rally, or standing up in the middle of a State of the Union address and yelling "You lie!".

Did Boehner and the leadership call for civility then? Did they demand their members to stop the hate speech or stop acting like a hillbilly? Have they yet condemned the rancid hate speech on their radio stations or their TV station. Or have they instead scheduled to be interviewed by them.

Make no mistake about what is coming next. It will take a short while for them to return to their hillbilly ways and to put the blame elsewhere. No, it is not the time to blame both sides. It is time to point the finger in the eye of the Boehner.

Giving the bird back to the Harris County GOP

I have written in the past about my disgust with the Harris County GOP's "Give a Mexican a Bike" and their "Give a Mexican the Bird" program. Now Ned Hibberd of Fox News has more:

“They give us the bird and then they call our children ‘anchor babies,’"

Dem Cries Foul Over Free GOP Turkeys: MyFoxHOUSTON.com

Let me fill in the story. This situation has been brought to the attention of the Board of HISD because of what I found on the internet concerning these events, specifically the GOPs newsletter which:

• bragging about this school being "95% Hispanic"
• Not only elected officials came to the schools but candidates running for office within Harris County were introduced
• The school Principal was completely involved in the activities
• And the kicker, the newsletter showed pictures of a poster made by the children thanking the GOP and the chairman.

As the story says:

There's two problems. One, they have partisan politics on school property and that has to stop. And two, it's an insult.

They're trying to gain something here, because they're going to the Hispanic community and giving away bicycles. And then taking away their access to health care. So when they fall off this bicycle, what do they do?

HISD has not responded to the complaint. Yet.

With highest rates in the nation, Texas Insurance Commissioner steps down

I like Mike Geeslin, the Commissioner of the Texas Department of Insurance. I met him many years ago when we were asking for the TDI's help with foundation failures. (never got it) And I recently spoke with him at a hearing in Austin about how the cost of roof repairs doubled right after hurricane Ike. (My estimates before Ike were about $5500. After Ike, $9500. And two years later, back down to $5500.)

Today he announced he will not seek reappointment to the position leaving the Governor with the opportunity to appoint one of his buddies from the insurance industry. Texas Watch hopes for someone more sensitive to the current situation:

“Today’s announcement that Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin will not be seeking re-appointment gives the governor an opportunity to appoint a commissioner who will work with the legislature to balance our insurance marketplace.  For too long our market has been dysfunctional because of lax oversight and an ineffective regulatory process."

Don't hold your bad breath. Geeslin's predecessor, Jose Montemayor, pretty much dismantled the agency then went to work for...wait for it...an insurance company. As I said many years ago about insurance reform:

The promised reforms, of the 2003 session, were a complete and total failure of the leadership of the state. The Insurance Commissioner at the time, Jose Montemayor, who is now working for an insurance company, caved in to every request of the industry. After historic hearings on toxic mold, he removed mold coverage without any reduction in rates or any worthwhile measures to prevent the cause of mold contamination. He allowed the use of credit scoring giving the industry the right to increase rates based upon an owners credit history. And he authorized the use of HO-A policies, which made foundation, water, and sewer damage optional. And yet not one single penny of rate reduction was realized by the owners in the state.

Here is a safe bet: Perry will appoint someone from the insurance industry to oversee the insurance industry and Mike is no dummy and will go work for the insurance industry. Count on it.

Sullivan whining about voting rights

One of the worst drawn city districts in Houston is the Kingwood/Clear Lake District E currently represented by City Councilman Mike Sullivan. Anyone with a lick of sense would agree the two areas need to be separated but Sullivan isn't real keen about Kingwood being put together with the black folks around the Airport. From The Tribune:

“It would be an injustice to the Kingwood area. It would pose some voter’s rights issues to bring up to the Department of Justice.” 

Sullivan was leading the committee on redistricting until the Mayor pulled him off because he couldn't be trusted. (Never could understand why she trusted Sullivan in the first place)  And now that his white conservative voting block connected by a 40 mile drainage ditch is under the knife, Sullivan has suddenly become a friend of the Department of Justice and voter's rights.

Funny, Sullivan wasn't concerned about voting rights when his teabag buddies were at predominantly Black and Hispanic voting locations during the last election. But now that a committee is looking to finally separate the two, Sullivan is first inline to invoke Martin Luther King, Jesse Jackson, Cesar Chavez, and Jackie Chiles. As Jackie would say "I am shocked and chagrined! Horrified and stupified! " In fact, here is Jackie:

It's about time: Gates calls for $100 Billion in defense cuts

The United States spends more on defense than the entire world combined. From Reuters:

(Reuters) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates is expected to announce as early as Thursday about $100 billion in savings for the Pentagon and cuts to some weapons programs, sources said on Monday.

This will include a reduction of $12 Billion in 2011. I can hear the warmongers already "These cuts will put our fine brave men and women of the armed forces who put their lives on the line protecting our freedoms and our Constitution (except for the 1st, 4th, and 7th amendments) in harms way." When actually the argument should be:

"These cuts will put our rich men and women of the defense contractors, who put their savings on the line building weapons and defending the need for useless wars, in harms way of not being able to buy their next Lexus."

These are going to be steep cuts. Removing $12 Billion from a part of the economy means severe loss of jobs. Cutting production of the F-35, a $335 Billion contract started in 1996, 50% over budget, and has yet to produce any of the 2700+ on order, will cost a huge amount of high paying government funded jobs and will impact the local economies.

But this is the price we might have to pay for being "Strong on Defense Spending". Our military has been coddled ever since Reagan was in office. Republicans ran on being "strong on defense" when actually they were strong on spending only. Then everything changed on 911 when the "strong on defense" party was looking the other way and the "strong on defense spending" party pumped over $Trillion into two wars, one never ending, and the other never necessary.

Look for more details in ending this cash cow in the article.

The Texas Progressive Alliance New Years Roundup

The Texas Progressive Alliance wishes everyone a happy and prosperous New Year as it brings you the first blog roundup of 2011.

Off the Kuff took another look at the coming fight over class size limits.

Who decides who suffers in the Barnett Shale? TXsharon ponders this question at Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS. Unless you are a decider, you will eventually suffer.

With "Death Panels" being resurrected in 2011, Bay Area Houston has posted An Idiots Guide to Surviving Obama's Death Panels".

Reverend Manny at BlueBloggin takes an in depth look at Bankster Privilege and the Threat of Right Wing Terrorism in 2011-2012. Since the Bush Cabal was thrown out after 25 years of bankster profiteering and warmongering, and the centrist Obama put in his place to preside over a bankster-collapsed economy, there has been over a 250% increase in bankster-sponsored racist and/or separatist right wing groups that openly brandish their capability and willingness for violence. There is a convenience of more than just happenstance for the large corporations that dominate our society. For every “tea party” stance they support, for example, smaller school budgets, there is a huge profit margin for the large corporations. Those same corporations fund most of the paranoid right-wing politicians, who in turn cater to both their violent racist base AND to their banker sponsors.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme notes that the republicans will use any excuse to kill public education in Texas.

An update on the Keystone XL pipeline, the proposed nuclear waste dump in west Texas, and the prospects for DREAM in the next Congress are all part of this aggre-post by PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.

Neil at Texas Liberal marked the 165th anniversary of Texas statehood. This post includes links to a number of good reference sources so we may learn more about our state. Also included in this post is a picture of President Obama meant to indicate that Texas is just one state of 50 in our federal union. Let's all get it through our heads---The federal government in Washington is the supreme governmental authority of the the land.

Power Watch: Electricity rates for Jan 2011

Happy New Year! I haven't reported on rates since June of 2010.  Let's see how that electricity deregulation has done for you. Overall rates have come down, based upon a 12 month+ contract, but still more expensive than what we in Houston were paying (7-8 cents per kWh) prior to deregulation and to San Antonio (6-7 cents per kWh) a regulated market. Here are the latest rates from the Power to Lose website of the Public Utility Commission:

Long term rates: 
A couple of providers offer 12 months at 8.7 cents, Pennywise Power, Epcot Electric, and Mega Energy, L.  You might want to check the consumer complaint statistics on these companies, some which are not listed.


Liberty Power has the highest rates at 13.8 over 50% higher than what we were paying. Mega-giants Reliant Energy and TXU  are at 12.7 and 12.4 respectfully, also more than 50% higher than what we were paying prior to deregulation.


Month to Month: 
The lowest month to month plan is at 6.9 with  Pennywise Power and Abacus Resources Energy. The highest is 15.1 by Nations Power.

Renewable Rates: 
The lowest 100% renewable energy 12 month+ contract is at 9.5 by Tara Energy and the highest is 12.8 by Abacus Resources Energy .

Spending Campaign Cash: Commissioner Radack on the Houston Texans

Maybe one day Judge Emmett will call for ethics reform requiring all financial campaign reports to be filed electronically to make perusal on spending habits easier. Until then, it requires time, patience, and a printer full of paper. Besides buying $1000 worth of toilet plungers for the 2008 elections to show his support for McCain (crappy choice), consider this little gem about Commissioner Steve Radack:

From his recent reports, Radack has an interest in the Houston Texans. On May 4 2010 Radack paid $3842.00 on "Tickets for events" to Houston NFL Holdings. According to the google:

Houston NFL Holdings owns and operates the Houston Texans professional football team, which entered the National Football League as an expansion franchise in 2002. 

And on 7/20/2009 he spent another $7564.50 on the Texans for "Houston Texans football tickets".  At least he is honest about the expenditure. And on 4/22/2009 he spent $840.50. And yet another $3952.50 on 4/20/2008 for a total of $16,199.50.

Tickets for the Texans are relatively expensive costing at least $75 for a semi-decent seat. It must be nice to have free money to watch them play every other Sunday. Now if only they will start winning. Until then, maybe Radack should show his support by taking a plunger with him.