Moon pie in the sky

Sometimes marketing gets in the way of sound science. Good for the guys at SpaceX for their fresh ideas, but pullllll-eaze.....

Teabaggers are down with Dick

Eric Dick, the strange candidate for Houston City Council At Large 2, is the focus of the City of Houston calling for fines for illegally placed campaign signs. Dick is very well known for putting his Dick 30 ft in the air on utility poles as well as on any empty lot fence he can find. From ABC 13:

But it doesn't matter who posted the signs. Parker says the city spends $450,000 a year removing bandit signs from city rights of way and that's got to stop.

"Enough is enough. We're going to crack down, and we are going to be sending a notice out to all of the campaigns reminding them that this is already in city ordinance," Parker said.

She has a good point. Lucky for Eric, the teabag community (well, at least one teabag blogger) has decided to support Dick. 

I kinda like this guy because he isn't afraid to get out there and fight. Oh, and he's also very creative.

I guess he can proudly wear the "I Like Dick" campaign button.

Todd Staples does the immigration dance with the Texas Tribune

Sometimes I wonder if the Texas Tribune is becoming Fox New in print.

Todd Staples held a press conference with former General Barry R. McCaffrey to discuss immigration. Over the last decade Staples never took the time to raise this issue to his buddy in the White House, George W. Bush or the Congress controlled by his own party.

But today is different. Today he is running for Lt Governor and like most flat head republicans he is swinging wildly at the immigration pinata, being praised by those waiting for something to happen. But nothing ever does, just like all the immigration bills his party killed this last session while having complete control of the House and Senate. In the end, the pinata survives for another election cycle.


And why would he want to solve this problem when his largest donor says not to? Of course receiving $500,000 from Bob Perry, the home builder, probably doesn't have a thing to do with Staples sitting on the sidelines and letting the immigration problem go unchecked over the last decade.

Bob Perry's position on immigration is pretty well known, wanting a complete and diverse workforce to build his homes, and make no mistake about Staple's position in relation to Bob Perry:

He suggested a guest worker program should be considered to ensure a complete and diverse workforce.

I think Staples position is very clear. And I think I could write for the Tribune.

Rick Perry's press release archives to be taken offline

Look for Rick Perry's press release archive to be taken offline in the near future because it is full of conflicting information. For instance at his debate he claimed he was vocally opposed to Bush's No Child Left Behind, but according to a press release in his online archive: (thanks to Opposing Views)

“Texas was a model for President Bush’s No Child Left Behind legislation, and we continue to lead the nation in innovative solutions to improve our schools,” Perry said. “The U.S. Department of Education’s stamp of approval means we can move forward with our plan to improve early childhood education, dropout prevention, teaching excellence, science education and our schools’ use of technology.”

Oops. Once again Perry's record doesn't match his rhetoric, but if he is allowed to continue to say things that just aren't true, his tea party members will continue to believe him and he will clinch the Tea Party nomination.

The education system here in Texas is legendary, a perfect model of what not to do for education. This can be said about every reform Rick Perry has ushered into the state, insurance, electricity, tort reform, college tuition, and many many more. And his archive press releases are treasure trove of information.

Look for it to go away soon.

Debate: Perry weak and wrong on immigration

Could it be catching up to Rick Perry, attempting to play both sides of an issue? Claiming to have a miracle state awash in jobs, yet needing a miracle to solve his $27B shortfall in revenue. Blaming big bad government, then begging big bad government for emergency help for wildfires? And talking tough about immigration, yet doing nothing about it.

Weak
Perry has been talking tough about immigration for the last couple of elections, yet pleasing his donors by protecting their cheap workforce. In the last legislation session with absolutely complete control of the House and Senate, he caved once again to his donors to kill his sanctuary bill as well as all other Arizona style type of legislation.

And Wrong. 
Perry's opposition to his own bills are not because he is concerned about the economy of Texas, or the affect on families who have worked here for decades, or any humanitarian reasons. His opposition to his own legislation is based upon his donors who depend upon the cheap labor force. (See his donor's OP-ED to the Dallas Morning News on immigration) He is opposed to his own immigration laws for all the wrong reasons.

Makes you Stong?
Perry's tough talk gets him so far within his own party, but now they are realizing exactly what Perry is selling. Even his own Tea Party is fed up with his kowtowing to his donors on immigration.

“This is an issue that is simmering and bubbling up to the surface … We are tired of lip service. We are fed up. We are fed up, too, Gov. Perry,” Texas Tea Party Caucus Advisory Committee chair JoAnn Fleming of Tyler said Monday.

That is Rick Perry, a Texas sized slippery Snake Oil salesman. All hair and no cattle. How long will the Tea Party continue to buy into this?

Did Perry throw Jay Kimbrough under the A&M bus?

In the Corps of Cadets we had a name for those who screwed fellow Aggies for personal gain, "buddy *&^%er". This is what Jay Kimbrough, the former Deputy Chancellor of the Texas A&M System, might be calling Rick Perry.
You see, Kimbrough had his stupid ass escorted out of Texas A&M by the campus cops after being told his $300,000 job was not longer needed. (Republican budget cuts are a bitch!) From the Seattle PI:

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A longtime adviser to Gov. Rick Perry, upset over his abrupt firing at a Texas university, admitted Thursday he told staff he would surrender his office keys only if "anyone is man enough to take them" — all while brandishing a pocketknife in what police called a "nonthreatening" way.

John Sharp, another Aggie and appointed by Governor Perry was the one that deemed Kimbrough's services were no longer needed at Texas A&M. So it was Sharp who did the dirty work and drove the Perry Express right over Kimbrough dumb ass.

Hence the title Governor Rick, Buddy *&^%er, Perry.

KTRH, KRIV, KTRK, and KHOU are missing out

If there was a tea party rally with 12 old, fat, white folks with misspelled signs, they would be on them like a duck on a june bug in August.

Rick Perry takes tea party for immigration ride

Rick Perry is depending upon the ignorance of voters to win the primary, particularly the members of the teabag party. Take his immigration policies for example.

During the last legislation session Perry had overwhelming control of the Texas House and a Lt Governor willing to change the rules in the Senate to prevent any blocking of bills. He had a wide open window to sign any immigration bill that would cross his desk, including the sanctuary bill, making it a felony to hire illegal workers, or requiring teachers to gather immigration information from their kids. In the end nothing passed and the teabag party is pissed. And ignorant. From the Houston Chronicle:

“This is an issue that is simmering and bubbling up to the surface … We are tired of lip service. We are fed up. We are fed up, too, Gov. Perry,” Texas Tea Party Caucus Advisory Committee chair JoAnn Fleming of Tyler said Monday.

And here is what Perry's donors say about their cheap immigrant workforce from an op-ed in the Dallas Morning News: (a copy can be found here)

Not only that, but immigrant workers renew and reinvigorate America. They remind us what it's like to give a job your all. We talk about old-fashioned family values; they live them.

These are good people with good values doing work that we need done, reaching for the American Dream and helping make it a reality for all. 

Perry will continue to do what his donors tell him to do to protect their cheap workforce. He has absolutely no intentions of disrupting the Texas economy or pissing off his donors. The teabaggers are just too stupid to understand this.

But, Perry will continue to talk tough and the teabaggers will continue to vote for him in the primary. Remember, Perry is the master of ignorance and the baggers are just that.

In TWIA we Twust?

There are two kinds of people in the world, my friend: Those with a rope around the neck, and the people who have the job of doing the cutting.  --- The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

You can thank Rick Perry and State Insurance Representative Larry Taylor (R-Friendswood) for this:

Consider these two scenarios involving the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA). If a homeowner commits insurance fraud against TWIA, amounting to cheating and stealing from them, they will be charged, tried, fined, and most probably spend some time in state jail. The consequences are severe.

But if TWIA refused to pay your claim after a devastating hurricane, amounting to cheating and stealing from your family, instead of being fined, spending time in jail, or being held accountable after years of litigation, TWIA will only be fined the amount you were cheated out of plus attorneys fees. The consequences are non-existent.

With the passing of the TWIA reform bill, with the enthusiastic support of the insurance industry cheerleader, Larry Taylor, Texas has become the nanny state of TWIA, coddling them when they commit fraud, protecting them from being held accountable, and protecting them from legal action when all the homeowner has left is legal action.

In the past if a slick, suit wearing,  crook, cheated or stole from your family, the penalty usually included a horse, a tall tree, and a rope. Now Larry Taylor is there to laugh all the way to the bank and to coddle, protect, and protect their ass.

As well as kiss it.

More coming later.

Why Jerry Eversole resigned

So everyone is wondering: Why did Jerry Eversole suddenly resign? According to Eversole he looked in the mirror today and decided to spend more time with the family doing something else, but I think there might be other reasons such as:

• The IRS is asking questions about the $240,000+ he took from his campaign contributions to buy western art, clothing, books, and other non office duty stuff and he didn't report it as income.
• His donors are asking questions about what he bought with their money.
• The FBI just found out about his campaign spending capers
• The Feds decided to drop their charges in exchange for him resigning

Eitherway, Eversole is gone for good. Over the next year or so his campaign war chest will be watched closely to see what he does with his remaining donations and the $1 Million he stashed away for interests.

Good riddance.

More on deadbeat teabagging Congressman, Joe Walsh

This man represents the teabag party very well. Walsh was missing from a court hearing on why he has not paid his child support to his first wife. (gosh how many family values does he have?) His excuse for missing the hearing was due to a vote in the house that required his presence. Watch till the end:

Oops. Rick Perry was for Wallstreet's Bailout before he was against it.

Rick Perry is nothing but a Texas sized Snake Oil salesman.

Today he told a group in Iowa that he did not support President Bush's Wallstreet Bailout (TARP). Unfortunately Redstate has a copy of his letter as Chairman of the Republican Governors Association to Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling for bipartisan support for it. OOPS!

Of course, Perry will somehow weasel out of this. Let's watch......

Texas tied with Mississippi. (and it's not good)

It would be nice if the Texas Aggies were tied with Mississippi State for #1 in the college football AP poll, or if the Texas Longhorns were tied with Mississippi in robotics competition. Unfortunately that is not the case. Texas is dead last, but at least we are tied with Mississippi. From the Houston Chronicle Blog:

Texas also tied with Mississippi for having the highest proportion of low-wage workers in the country–nearly 10 percent of all hourly employees, according to the report.

Perry's low taxes, less regulation, scheme has produced a low wage, low benefits, no protection job market that has left the state in a $27B hole. These low paid workers have no health insurance and can't afford health care for their families. It just isn't producing the job miracle he is selling. Here are more tidbits from the Chronicle:

• Texas also tied with Mississippi for having the highest proportion of low-wage workers in the country
• Job gains haven’t kept up with Texas’ rising population, 
• Texas’ poverty rate is higher than the rest of the country’s — and growing faster than the national rate

And don't forget the other statistics that makes Texas the hell hole it has become.  Maybe the American voter will finally figure out that Rick Perry is a Texas sized snake oil salesman.

Can Texas Governor Rick Perry be bought off with just $5000?

Did the little piggy cry wee wee wee all the way home?




As the Houston Chronicle wrote, Perry wasn't bought out for $5000 to mandate the HPV vaccine on all female kids. It was more like $29,000 (and some) and having his former Chief of Staff land a nice lobbying job with Merck didn't hurt either.

Campaign finance records show that Merck has contributed $29,500 to Perry during his entire tenure as governor, $22,000 of it prior to his 2007 order.

According to a new report by Texans for Public Justice, the pharmaceutical giant also has kicked in $377,000 to the Republican Governor’s Association since 2006, the year Perry became involved as a driving force behind the organization’s fundraising. The RGA has given Perry $4 million, more than any other source of funds during his decade in office, according to TPJ.

Perry has a number of ways to hide donations to his campaign. Texans for Lawsuit Reform, created by the home building and the insurance industry has donated millions across the state and to Perry. This is nothing but a front group for the industries and needless to say, Perry delivers for them.

In 2006 he hid a $1 million donation from home builder Bob Perry. His challenger sued and Perry settled for $426,000. Perry's support for the home building industry is legendary in Texas. From Texas Watchdog:

Bell’s suit charged that Perry attempted to hide $1 million in donations from political kingmaker Bob Perry, (no relation) a Houston home builder.

 

The suit claimed the money was illegally routed through the Republican Governors Association in the last days of the 2006 gubernatorial campaign, in which Bell opposed the incumbent Perry.

Rick Perry. One slippery Snake Oil Salesman.

Ron Paul, one sick, rotten, bastard.

Ron Paul, just like his teabag buddies (Perry included) is one sick, rotten, bastard when it comes to common sense, health care, and simple compassion. From Huffington Post:

Ron Paul's Campaign Manager, 49, Dies Uninsured, Of Pneumonia, Leaving family $400,000 Debt

The comments says a lot about those who follow Paul. Here is a sample:

$400,000 to me sounds like poor Kent Snyder got gouged by his hospital. I gave a small donation because he is a fellow patriot, but I didn't give more because I have no proof that this is not a hospital rip-off.

Uh...dude. The guy is dead and his family is in need. So much for being a patriot. Much like a Libertarian that works at a government job, he blames someone else. Here is another:

The outlandish prices in the American health care system are caused by government regulation.

­Yep. To the end they have their talking points down. Blame the government, probably the same government the guy who made the comment works for. 

 

Rotten bastards. All of them.

Thank Rick Perry: State Farm Insurance screws Texans. Again.

You would think homeowners insured by State Farm would have had enough already, but not it Texas, so State Farm continues to raise their rates, increase their deductibles, and put the screws to them. From NBC in Dallas:

So, where your deductible might have been $500 or $1,000, it will now be 1 or 2 percent of the value of your home.  If you're home is insured for more than $50,000 -- you're deductible is going up.

But there is more.......

Additionally, the company has filed a notice seeking an average increase of 10 percent to insurance rates.

Well for those of you with State Farm, you have Rick Perry to thank for all of this. Back in 2003 he promised lower rates after relieving the insurance industry from oversight and regulations. In returned, you got screwed. And now he is selling it to Americans across the country.

That is Rick Perry, the Texas sized Snake Oil Salesman.

The second coming of George W. Bush

God help us all.

Governor Rick Perry's snake oil, the home builder's Commission

Patti Hart of the Houston Chronicle writes about the now defunct Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC) claiming it was a payback to home builder Bob Perry for his millions he donated to Gov. Perry's campaigns. (and or duh!) Her story is short. A longer one detailing the incredible creation of this Commission can be found at "The TRCC. A Consumer's Perspective". I will give you the highlights:

• The bill (HB730) that created the TRCC was written by the Vice President of Bob Perry Homes, John Krugh.
• Krugh was appointed to the Commission after HB730 passed.
  
• The bill was filed by State Representative Allan Ritter who owns a lumber company and is a member of the Texas Association of Builders.
• After 6 years only 31 out of 28,000 builders applied for the Texas Star Builder program, an exclusive program created by the builders
• The TRCC was to register qualified individuals to act as arbitrators in home defect cases. After 6 years only 5 arbitrators were registered.
• The Commissions budget grew to $10 million a year in 2007 with 80 employees.
• After 6 years only 12% of all claims actually helped the consumer. 
• After 6 years the Commission was decommissioned.

The TRCC is the epitome of the way Governor Rick Perry governs. If you want to play, you have to pay. This Commission was created, supposedly, to protect the consumers. That is how Perry sold it. Instead it was nothing but snake oil.

And he is the salesman. 

A new ice cream created exclusively for the Teabag Party

After a long day of spreading misinformation, defending the rights of millionaires, screaming "DON'T TOUCH MY MEDICARE", and teabagging with close friends, take some time to enjoy two scoops of ice cream created exclusively for the Teabag party, Schwetty Balls:

Teabagger hypocrites on parade: Joe Walsh (R) (Update)

Update on Teabagger Joe Walsh (R) who owes over $107,000 in back child support.

The "fiscally responsible" teabagger, Joe Walsh (R) had enough money to loan himself $35,000 for his teabag campaign, and he has enough money for a vacation, and he has money to counter sue and harass his wife, but somehow he doesn't have enough money to pay his child support. From Raw Story:

In a possible effort to slow down the case, lawyers for the Illinois Republican asked his ex-wife to provide extensive documentation, including records of her employment, salary, bank statements, tax returns and expense reports.

What this has to do with Walsh not paying $107,000 in back child support is beyond me. Obviously Walsh has enough money to pay an attorney to keep from taking care of his own children:

Members of Congress earn $174,000-a-year (PDF), placing them in the top five percent of salaried U.S. workers. Combined with their full health benefits, members of the House are compensated at a rate about 3.5 times higher than the average American.

For this is the teaching of teabag. Let us kneel.

uh.....on second thought......

Which teabagging *sshole will distrupt Obama's speech tonight?

My bet is on Pete Olson.

This is fundraising time and anyone who publicly disrespects the President of the United States will be showered with donations from the rank and file of the teabag party much like what happened with "You lie" Joe Wilson.

These people have no respect for anyone including the voting public, the President, or the chambers. If they could make a buck pissing on the 911 ground zero site, they would do it. Twice.

Watch.

Did Chris Carmona pull a Paul Bettencourt in race for Houston City Council?

Chris Moran of the Houston Chronicle must have an error in his article about the candidates who have officially filed for Houston City Council:

At-Large 3
Melissa Noriega is seeking a third term as the Position 3 councilwoman. She has one challenger, J. Brad Batteau.

According to Facebook, Chris Carmona has also filed for the position:

It's official! Just finished filing for a place on the ballot for this Nov election. Vote CARMONA!

Either Carmona has pulled a Paul Bettencourt and quit the race (although Bettencourt didn't quit the race, he quit after just 2 weeks on the job as Harris County Tax Assessor/Collector!) or Moran posted his report a tad too early. Either way, with 153 "likes" on Facebook, and little if anything but a few misplaced signs, Carmona, a teabag candidate, is not running a credible campaign.

I wonder if quitting is a teabag trait.

Breaking: Paul Bettencourt files for Mayor of Houston.

Former Harris County Tax Assessor/Collector Paul Bettencourt has filed for Mayor of Houston. More details following.......


UPDATE: Nevermind, Paul Bettencourt has just quit. Again.

Let's admit it, Rick Perry's prayers aren't working.

Someone told me many years ago: Prayer can't change things. It can't bring things. Prayer is for self comfort, control, and strength. You pray to help gather your thoughts and to help focus. You don't pray for a dump truck of gold, good grades, to wake up 20 lbs lighter, or for a weekend of rain.

It bothers me when people, especially elected officials, call for prayers for rain (obviously it is not working) or to help them out of a bad political situation. Rick Perry called for prayers for rain over 3 months ago and if by chance water vapors starts to rise, their temperature drops, and then the process of condensation starts and drench Texas, Perry will take credit for it. It is always a win-win, unless you don't win.

Prayer doesn't win football games although many winners will give all the glory to their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ while the losers wonder what the hell happened. In most sports, one team is going to lose, maybe the one that didn't pray enough, or the one that didn't score enough points. I would bet that not scoring has quite a bit more to do with losing than praying.

Many pray when it is convenient. Instead of picking up a water hose and putting out the fire, they will form a prayer circle. Many pray when it is necessary. Being diagnosed with cancer can easily drop someone to their knees. And many pray for political points.

And many are just too *&^damn blind to realize that is exactly what Perry is doing.

Maybe we should pray for him.

Will Perry decline FEMA help for wild fires victims?

Do people do dumb things with smartphones?



Governor Rick Perry will be the first to say Texans pull themselves up by their bootstraps and he will be first in line begging for FEMA after the devastating wildfires in Central Texas. This is Teabagging at its finest and that is why he is the tea party's candidate.


Lucky for Perry, his teabag partners are withholding funding for those affected by hurricane Irene so there may not be much left for him to grovel for. Some of the areas that are affected, once bright red republican, are now burnt black republican. Maybe they might like to know that Perry cut $34 Million from the $109 Million budget of the Texas Forest Service the very same people who are fighting these fires. Maybe they would like to know that Texas is depending upon other states to donate their time and money to help with the fires because Perry is too damn stupid to think ahead.

Stupid teabaggers. Perry's press conference was filmed by KXAN.

Rice University Marching Owl Band pokes fun at Rick Perry (video)

First Perry is blasted by the Sanger ISD administrators with their skit "Where Rick Perry are you tonight" sung to a Hee-Haw tune. Now we have the Marching Owl Band of Rice University poking fun at the intelligence of Tea Party Candidate, Rick Perry. Perry graduated from Texas A&M with a GPA of 2.4 in Agriculture.

Screwing Veterans who buy homes. No Place but Texas.

The following story did not happen in Texas, but it easily could have and if the National Home Builder Association's Tea Party candidate, Rick Perry, becomes President, you can expect it to happen in every state. From WAVE 3 Troubleshooter, Vine Grove Ky:

VINE GROVE, KY (WAVE) - The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is taking action after a WAVE 3 Troubleshooter investigation exposed a construction company accused of building shoddy homes near Fort Knox. But we discovered that company is now working to sidestep the restrictions placed on them by the VA so they can keep selling those homes.

One thing I have learned here in Texas, is that Veterans are not protected any better from shoddy builders than the average Joe. Neither are seniors, or a young couple starting a family in a new home, or the sick. Getting screwed by a home builder, especially in Texas, is for everyone.

Rick Perry is funded by the home building industry. He will do whatever he can to protect them from Veterans who are trying to hold them accountable. He has coddled them since taking office even creating a Homebuilder's Commission, designed by the builders and run by the builders. This commission was so bad that it was repealed after only 6 short years. (See The House that Bob Perry Built. The TRCC.)

The sad part of this story is that these Veterans probably voted for the Teabag Party, the very same people who are screwing them. Much like chickens voting for Colonel Sanders.

Greedy Tea Party watches as 24 year old dies

This is why I can't stand teabaggers. They are filthy, ignorant, greedy bastards. From ABC News:

According to NBC affiliate WLWT, Kyle Willis' wisdom tooth started hurting two weeks ago. When dentists told him it needed to be pulled, he decided to forgo the procedure, because he was unemployed and had no health insurance. [he died a week later]

Teabaggers will fight till they are red in the face to protect the tax breaks for millionaires, but will tuck tail when it is time to help those who need help, like the two kids this man left behind.

Texas Teachers nail Rick Perry

Rick Perry is no friend of the Texas State Teachers Association. Some highlights from their press release:

• First time in 60 years that the budget did not account for new growth in schools
• $4 Billion cut from education while $6 Billion was left in the rainy day fund
• Teacher pay ranks 31st in the nation, $7000/year below the average
• Tens of thousands of college students will lose funding opportunities
• Over 49,000 teacher will lose their jobs

And the worst is yet to come. The cuts for 2011-2012 will be doubled for 2012-2013, right after the election, as planned. Maybe this is why some educators are making fun of Rick Perry.

TSTA President Rita Haecker issued the following statement today on the new state budget's impacts on public education: 

"When it comes to public education, Rick Perry is all hair and no cattle. He talks a good game of economic development and job creation, but his under-funding of public schools and universities undermines Texas' ability to adequately prepare young people for the jobs that will make or break the state's future.

"Perry is starving public education in our state. His new, two-year state budget is the first budget during his lifetime (more than 60 years) that fails to fully fund Texas' school finance obligations, including enrollment growth. The budget cuts $4 billion from school district formula funding and another $1.4 billion in education discretionary grants for vital programs, such as full-day pre-kindergarten and dropout prevention.

"Thousands of Texas teachers already have lost their jobs, and we fear that more will follow. Some budget experts have estimated that as many as 49,000 school employees will get pink slips by this time next year. Classrooms are becoming more crowded, compromising educational quality in a state that already is dead last in the percentage of adults with a high school diploma.

"More than 43,000 returning college students are losing financial aid this year under Perry's new budget, and thousands more entering college freshman who quality for financial assistance will have to struggle without state scholarships.

"Despite all these anti-student, anti-teacher, anti-family cuts, the Legislature, at Perry's insistence, left $6.5 billion of the taxpayers' money unspent in the emergency Rainy Day Fund so Perry could win political points with ideological extremists. Average teacher pay in Texas ($48,261 for the 2009-2010 school year) ranks 31st in the country, about $7,000 below the national average, and per-student funding on public education ranks in the bottom third among the states.

"If Perry's neglect of education isn't reversed, employers with the higher-paying jobs will take their opportunities to other states. Rick Perry likes to brag about the so-called 'Texas Miracle,' but with public schools suffering billions in budget cuts while school enrollment continues to grow, the real miracle workers are the dedicated Texas teachers who are forced to do more with less in overcrowded classrooms. Rick Perry is no friend of public education, and that is direct threat to our economy and a generation of young Texans."

What happened to Joe Driver and Linda Harper-Brown-Benz?

There hasn't been any news about Texas State Representatives Joe Driver and Linda Harper Brown after they were exposed in 2010 for double dipping the taxpayer. This can't be good for either of them. Both are probably being investigated by the Travis County DAs office. If so, there would be little if any communication from their office. Hence no news.

The next step would be an indictment from a Grand Jury. Leaks to the media if a case is being brought to them should be expected.

Joe Driver
Prior to the election Driver was outed by Jay Root of the Associated Press. Root identified $17,000+ of travel related expenses that were paid by his campaign and also by the Comptroller's Office. Driver pocketed this "free money".

Later it was noted that Driver received $40,000 from the Comptroller's Office for mileage, for a car he does not own. Driver has since stated he has reimbursed his campaign (not the tax payers) $49,426 which has not been seen on his reports as of yet.

UPDATE: As expected, according to ethics reports, there is no indication that Joe Driver reimbursed his campaign as he stated.

Linda Harper Brown-Benz
State Rep Harper-Brown was provided a Mercedes, complete with State provided licenses plates, by a company receiving benefits from her votes in the Transportation Committee in Austin. How can anyone not think this smells to high heaven of bribery?

To make matters worse, she then claimed $13,000 in mileage for the use of her personal vehicle from the State for a vehicle she didn't own. This is something Driver is getting driven on. According to recent ethics reports, Brown has accepted a $15,000 loan from her husband  and has a total of $50,000 in outstanding loans with just $5000 cash on hand.