Krusee Disingenuous About TxDOT Spending

We learned last week that TxDOT is spending about $20,000 on a public relations effort to defend building new toll roads and the Trans- Texas Corridor (TTC). They are sending several people to public relations training, so they will be better able to defend Perry's unpopular effort to turn Texas roads over to his corporate buddies.

Several TxDOT division directors, engineers from Beaumont and Amarillo, Executive Director Steve Simmons and Perry aide Kris Heckmann will be receiving the public relations training. They will then go forth to try and convince the people of Texas that the TTC and other tolls roads should be built and turned over to private companies.

My question is why are the people of Texas having to pay for this training. Why don't the private corporations, who are the only ones who will benefit from this silly idea, pay for the training?

Evidently, this same question has occurred to some state legislators. Several of them complained last week about TxDOT spending state funds on public relations efforts -- about $7 to $9 million dollars in state funds.

Now Rep. Mike Krusee (pictured above), House Transportation Committee chairman and Perry apologist, has joined the fray to defend TxDOT. He said, "I think TxDOT's doing exactly what the legislature asked them to do, and legislators who now cry foul are being hypocritical. They were the ones that beat TxDOT over the head in public hearings for not explaining this."

Can Krusee really be this stupid? Yes, several legislators (but not enough) did berate TxDOT for not being able to defend Perry's ridiculous program to rob the people of Texas and fatten corporate coffers. They berated them because it's simply a very bad idea. Not a one of them said they thought TxDOT should spend millions on public relations, and then train TxDOT employees to be better liars to the media.

Perry and his TxDOT underlings say new toll roads are needed because TxDOT doesn't have the money needed to build new Texas roads. But if TxDOT is already short of funds, why are they wasting millions on public relations? If their program made sense, they wouldn't need a PR campaign to sell it to Texans.

Texans are opposed to the TTC and other new toll roads because it is a bad idea. Spending millions on public relations will not make it a better idea. It's silly to spend millions to put lipstick on this pig!

Collin County DA Still Won't Prosecute Perverts

For the last couple of years, NBC has been doing a continuing series of programs, where they team up with the organization called Perverted Justice and local police agencies to apprehend on-line child molesters. This organizational trio has caught scores of perverts on film as they show up to commit their crimes, and it has resulted in the conviction of these criminals all over this country -- except in Texas.

Last year, NBC and Perverted Justice came to Collin county (just north of Dallas) and teamed up with the police department in Murphy. The people from Perverted Justice posed as a teenager on-line and were hit on by many perverts. Over twenty of these perverts actually went to Murphy, thinking they were going to have sex with an underage girl. NBC caught their visit on camera, and the Murphy police department arrested these criminals and charged them.

A reasonable person would think these criminals would have been prosecuted and sent to prison. After all, this is what had happened in all the other places where this "sting" had been done. But evidently Collin county doesn't mind these child molesters coming to their county to commit their crimes -- or at least their District Attorney doesn't.

District Attorney John Roach (picture above) dropped the charges for all 23 of the perverts arrested. He didn't prosecute a single one! He came up with several reasons for this, and all of them turned out to be false.

First, he said that Perverted Justice members wouldn't testify. Not true. The members of Perverted Justice said they would be happy to testify, but were never asked. Then he said he didn't have juristiction because the computer servers were not in Collin county. Again, not true. All of the computer conversations went through a server located in Collin County.

NBC talked with a Travis county prosecutor to see if there was something different about Texas law that would prevent these prosecutions. There isn't. He told them that the minute these men entered Collin county, that gave juristiction to Collin county prosecutors. He also said that even without the witnesses or computer records, the NBC films alone would have been sufficient to prosecute the criminals.

Now D.A. Roach has gone on ABC's 20/20 program trying to defend his inexplicable actions. His newest reason for turning the perverts loose is because NBC controlled the sting and not the Murphy police. This is his weakest excuse yet. The police were involved every step of the way, and nothing happened without their permission and participation.

The truth of the matter is that there is no good reason for these men to not be prosecuted. The only reason they weren't is because D.A. Roach didn't want to prosecute them. Only he knows why he didn't prosecute, because there are no legal reasons barring these prosecutions.

I can't believe the good people of Collin county really want child molesters coming to their county to commit their crimes. They need to remember Roach's ridiculous refusal to prosecute when the next election rolls around. They deserve a prosecutor who will take these criminals to court when they are caught.

Justice Department Attacks Net Neutrality

This shouldn't have come as a surprise to anyone. Bush and his Republican cronies have always acted to favor big corporations at the expense of the little guy. Now they want to destroy the independent neutrality of the internet, so their corporate buddies can make even more windfall profits by controlling access.

The Republican-dominated Justice Department jumped into the fray on Thursday, telling the Federal Communications Commission that they oppose "net neutrality". Net Neutrality means that all internet sites should be equally accessible to all web users. One would think that this would be the ideal situation in a free country.

But Republicans don't really believe in freedom or equality. They only believe in dollars, and they see large profits in turning the internet over to the large corporations. They probably see this as a way to get large corporate donations for the upcoming election (since they haven't been doing too well so far in raising money).

Large phone and cable companies want to charge users more for loading certain sites faster. If you can't afford to pay, then you get squeezed out. Eventually, these large corporations would have control over all internet access and probably even content. Our last bastion of freedom in this country would die for all practical purposes.

There is nothing wrong with the internet as it is. Todays internet is really a true free market where a site is judged by its quality and not by its size or earning potential. It seems strange that the same Republicans who preach the value of the "free market", now want to destroy one.

It is time for those of us who love the internet as it is to raise our voices in protest -- otherwise, soon we won't be able to be heard at all.

Four Unions Now Backing Edwards

Most regular readers of this blog know that I've been backing Bill Richardson for the Democratic presidential nomination. However, his prospects are looking dimmer at this time. Unless he breaks through in one of the early states soon, it looks like the nominee will be chosen from Clinton, Obama and Edwards.

Personally, I just can't see myself supporting Obama or Clinton. I like Obama, but I really think he needs a little more experience before he gets such a high office. As for Clinton, I don't feel comfortable about her at all. Of all the Democratic candidates, I believe she is most in tune with keeping the corporations in charge of America's destiny.

Her husband was a supporter of NAFTA, and I believe she is also. She has already told us that she thinks the outsourcing of American jobs is a good thing. I just believe that a Clinton presidency would be bad for American workers.

If I can't have Bill Richardson as our candidate, then John Edwards is the candidate that I would prefer out of all the rest. It looks like a lot of other people are coming to that conclusion also. Edwards is currently leading in the polling for Iowa. He also won the Democratic party's Texas straw poll this last week, and many progressive Texas bloggers came out in support of him this last week.

But perhaps even more important, several large unions have climbed on board the Edwards bandwagon recently. Yesterday, the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) declared their support for Edwards. The TWU has 200,000 members.

On the Labor Day weekend, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBCJA), the United Steelworkers (US) and the United Mineworkers (UM) all threw their support behind Edward's candidacy. The UBCJA has 520,000 members, the US has 1.2 million members and the UM has 105,000 members.

Together, these unions have over 2 million members. This should give Edwards a huge boost in the race for the nomination. It is satisfying to see the unions acting in their own best interest in this primary race. Far too often in the past, they have had to choose between the lesser of two evils. This time they're backing a candidate that will actively support workers and fight the corporations.

I'm still not ready to give up on Bill Richardson, but it is good to see Edwards doing so well.

Fake Tribe Selling Memberships

There used to be a Native American tribe called the Kaweah, but they don't exist any longer. They also have nothing to do with the modern group calling itself the Kaweah Tribe. This group has its headquarters (pictured above) in Wichita, Kansas. It claims to have 10,000 members nationwide, and are still trying to be recognized as an official Native American tribe.

But it turns out that this modern group didn't exist before 1980, and the federal government denied them recognition in 1984. It's founder, Malcolm Webber (Grand Chief Thunderbird IV), is not even a Native American. It looks like the group is little more than a scam. The 10,000 "members" are people who paid from $50 to $1200 for membership to the "tribe".

The group has been targeting undocumented immigrants, promising them that if they buy a membership, they will become United States citizens once the tribe is recognized by the U.S. government. Of course, the government has no intention of recognizing the group, and if they did, it would not make any undocumented immigrant a citizen.

On Thursday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Social Security Administration's Office of Inspector General (SSA-OIG) raided the group's headquarters and arrested Webber. They believe Webber is guilty of fraud by claiming citizenship comes with the membership. They are currently searching through the group's papers, and expect to file charges soon.

Personally, I hope Webber and his cohorts do some serious time in a federal prison (and not one of the minimum-security country-club types). These sick bastards have been preying on the desperation of poor people. Life is hard enough for undocumented immigrants who are just trying to give their families a decent life, without being taken advantage of by these criminals. Fraudulent groups like this also make it harder for real Native American tribes, who are trying to improve the lives of their own people.

Well done ICE and SSA-OIG -- nail the bastards!

Hutchison Does Something Right

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has come up with some stupid ideas in the past, but their newest idea may be the worst of all. They want to have the authority to pay the federal government back for the money they put into building some existing Texas freeways, and then turn those freeways into TOLL ROADS. They have to have lost their tiny minds!

Then they want to turn those toll roads over to private companies, so they can gouge the people of Texas to drive on roads they paid to build. This is not just a silly idea -- it is outrageous! How long are the people of Texas going to put up with these idiots? Every TxDOT management official should be terminated, and every elected official who had anything to do with appointing them should be booted out of office in the next election.

Our state Republican leadership has always chosen to enrich corporations at the expense of ordinary Texans, but this idea of giving our freeways to private corporations is way over the line. This idea needs to be stopped right now before it can go any further.

Fortunately, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison does not agree with TxDOT's mad scheme. I'm not a big fan of Senator Hutchison, but this time she's acting to protect the citizens of Texas. As they say, even a broken clock is right twice a day, and this is one of those times for Hutchison.

Senator Hutchison has introduced S2019 in the Senate. If it becomes law, this bill would:

* Prohibit collecting tolls on any federal highway already constructed (that is not already a tollway).

* Prohibit collecting tolls on any federal highway bought back by a state after the bill becomes law.

* Include the toll prohibition to all bridges and tunnels on the interstate highway system.

This is a good bill. I commend Senator Hutchison for introducing it, and I hope she can get it passed. The only thing that could make it better is if it prohibited construction of the Trans-Texas Corridor -- now that would be a great bill!

Texas Receives A Priceless Treasure

On January 9, 1836, Davy Crockett wrote a letter to his daughter Margaret and her husband, Wily Flowers. It is believed to be the last letter he ever wrote, because a couple of months later he died trying to defend the Alamo with about two hundred other Texas heroes.

In the letter, Crockett predicted he'd do well in Texas and possibly even be chosen to help write the new constitution when Texas became a nation. He wrote, "I am rejoiced at my fate. I would rather be in my present situation than to be elected to a seat in Congress for life."

Those are marvelous words for this Texan to hear. Crockett may have grown up and earned a reputation in other states, but by the time of his death he had become a true Texan. He had grown to love his new home as much as any modern Texan does.

Last Tuesday, that letter rightfully became the property of the state of Texas. The Texas Historical Commission bought the letter from the Simpson Galleries of Houston for $550,000. The letter is currently housed in the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin.

It seems right that the letter is now owned by the people of Texas. It will be treasured by true Texans, as they treasure the sacrifice Crockett made for our state.

Whoopi Has Low Opinion Of Southerners

Whoopi Goldberg debuted as a new host on the view this week, and instantly put her foot in her mouth. It seems that she doesn't have a very high opinion of southerners. For some reason, she felt like she needed to defend Michael Vick, so she trashed an entire part of our country in her effort to do that.

It seems that Michael shouldn't be held responsible for fighting, torturing and killing dogs, because according to Whoopi, dog-fighting isn't all that unusual in the South "where he comes from". She said, "It's like cockfighting in Puerto Rico. There are certain things that are indicative to certain parts of the country."

She was asked about the torturing and killing of the dogs, and replied that dogs are sport for many people. My God, what the hell is she thinking? I guess they're civilized up North, but us Southerners just can't help loving to torture and kill dogs!

Let me make this very clear to Whoopi. You can't excuse Vick's vicious crimes because he grew up in the South. It is just as much a crime to fight, torture and kill dogs in the South, as it is anywhere else in this country. Millions of people grow up and spend their entire lives in the South, without ever having the urge to commit vicious and heinous acts against animals.

Vick knew what he was doing was criminal and just plain wrong, and he did it anyway. He deserves whatever punishment he receives, and probably more.

As for Whoopi, I'm very disappointed. I used to be a fan, until I saw what a low opinion she had of us Southerners.

Republicans Trying To Ruin Medicaid

The only chance the poor have for medical coverage, especially poor children, is Medicaid. But more and more doctors are refusing to take new Medicaid patients. According to a survey by the Texas Medical Association, nearly two-thirds of all doctors now refuse to take Medicaid patients.

Just a few years ago, in 2000, 67% of doctors were willing to take Medicaid patients. By 2002, the number had fallen to 49%, and in 2004, it went down to 45%. In 2006, the number slid again to 38%.

Why is this happening? Are doctors just being mean to poor people, especially poor children? Not at all. The doctors just cannot afford to take these patients, because the government pays so little for their care.

Ever since Bush came to power in 2000, the Republicans have been trying to destroy the Medicaid program. Through a series of cuts and freezes in payments, they have fixed it so many doctors can no longer afford to treat Medicaid patients.

They can afford billions in corporate welfare and tax cuts for the rich, but can't seem to find the money to cover poor children's medical needs. This seems very out of character for a party that preaches "family values". Evidently, they are only talking about their own families and those of their rich friends.

Then they turn around and use the doctor's unwillingness to take paltry government fees as evidence that a single-payer healthcare system will not work in this country. But it's not that doctors won't take government payments -- they'll take payment from any source as long as it's a fair payment.

I'm beginning to think we need a law that limits government officials to the same medical coverage as our poorest citizens. That would be the only way to get Republicans to stop trying to destroy what little coverage is offered.

But there is an easier way. Vote them out of power. Republicans have shown, they do not have enough empathy for the rest of us, to stay in power. If you're not rich, it'll be in your best interest to vote Democratic in 2008.

Ticket Surcharges Not Being Paid

In 2003, the Texas Legislature passed the Texas Driver Responsibility Law. This law tacked on a state surcharge to many tickets, including Driving Without Insurance, DUI and repeat citations. The surcharge added fees ranging from $100 to more than $2000.

Since the law was passed, over 1.1 million Texas drivers have been assessed the state surcharge. Only 30% of the assessed fees have been paid to date. The Department of Public Safety has collected only $288 million of the assessed $886 million. Some 775,000 drivers have either ignored or been unable to pay the extra fees.

This was just a bad law to begin with. It amounts to a tax on those who plead or have been found guilty of misdemeanor offenses. It imposes a second penalty on the misdemeanors in addition to what a judge or jury imposes. Even if it is legal to impose this second penalty, it is certainly poor social policy.

This new tax is very regressive, and hits the poor and working classes much harder than anyone else. Texas already raises much of it's income through a very regressive tax -- the sales tax. To impose another regressive tax gives the appearance that Texas is punishing the poor, while giving the rich and corporations tax breaks and cuts.

If we need more tax revenues, why are we cutting taxes for the rich? If we don't need new tax revenue, then this unneccessary law is just creating more problems for our already overburdened courts and jails. It has the effect of clogging our courts with many cases that could have been pled out. Why would someone plead guilty, if it could result in a huge state fee in addition to the court imposed fine?

At the present time, many of our county jails are already overcrowded. Do we really want to further fill these jails with poor people who cannot afford the additional state surcharge? Are these the people we need to lock up, or should we be saving our valuable jail space for those guilty of real crimes?

This was a bad law when it was passed, and with our worsening economy and stagnant wages, it is an even worse law now. It needs to be repealed.

Tougher Ozone Standard Is Needed

Ozone is not just a pollutant, it is one that comes with safety risks to the public. These health and safety risks are not in the future, but affect many Texans now. Bad ozone days can trigger asthma attacks and cause other respiratory problems.

The current acceptable level of ozone is 85 parts per billion. The EPA's science advisors say that should be lowered to at least 70 parts per billion. However, many local urban officials in Texas oppose lowering the accepted level, because they are having enough trouble meeting the current level.

If any of an area's ozone detectors show a higher than acceptable level more than four times, that entire area is deemed to be out of compliance with federal standards, and could be subject to severe federal penalties. Last year, monitors in the Dallas-Fort Worth area showed levels of ozone over 70 parts per billion at least 642 times.

This is not a good reason to not lower the acceptable level. In fact, it shows just how unsafe the air quality is in North Texas. The level must be lowered because Texas will not act to create a healthier air quality until it is forced to do so.

The Republicans in our state government have been no help at all. They have repeatedly failed to act to stop industrial pollution, and are fixing to allow several new coal-burning power plants that will just exacerbate the problem.

Sadly, the technology exists to bring all areas into compliance with lower standards. What doesn't exist is the political will to force industrial compliance and mandate cleaner vehicles.

We must put pressure on state and local officials to clean up the air. But the onus should not be just on one area such as autos. Both the auto owners (and makers) and the industries must do their part to clean up the situation. Politicians who will not act to enforce cleaner air standards should be voted out of office, regardless of party affiliation.

The political will to clean up this situation will not exist until the public demands it. Now is the time to demand it!

Coolest Commercial Ever!

Language Won't Solve Problem Of Mexican Trucks

NAFTA has already cost thousands of jobs in the United States, and starting next Thursday it may cost many more. That's the day that Mexican truckers will be allowed to drive their trucks throughout the U.S.

Up until now, they had to unload after crossing the border and let American truckers carry the load in this country. Unions and environmentalists want to keep it that way. They say the change will cost many American truckers their jobs, and also let many unsafe Mexican trucks on American highways. The Teamsters Union has filed suit in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, hoping to stop the change.

The Bush administration has reacted to this in a rather silly way. They say they are going to enforce the rule that says the Mexican truckers must be able to speak English. John Hill, head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, said, "We have found people in violation of this for a number of years, and we're working feverishly to correct it." Richard Henderson, with the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, said, "The bottom line is safety. If (the driver) can't speak English he's not going to know what some of the regulations are."

This is nothing more than a PR attempt to muddle the issue and make the American people think they are addressing the trucking issue. Do they really think the Mexican trucking companies and government can't easily translate the regulations into Spanish? You don't have to speak any certain language to know the regulations.

But this does nothing to address the real concerns of unsafe trucks and lost American jobs. Once again, the Republicans show they are more concerned with corporate profits, than they are with American workers or the safety of the American public on our roads.

This is just one more example of how NAFTA has been a disaster for America. It needs to be repealed as soon as possible.

McCain Losing Support In His Home State

Supporters of Fred Thompson says he will officially enter the race for the Republican nomination for president on September 6th. That could be the final death knell for the dying campaign of Senator John McCain.

A few months ago, McCain was considered the front-runner to get the nomination. But since the campaigning began in earnest, he has been slipping badly in the polls. At best, he is now in fourth place behind Romney, Giuliani, and Thompson, and I wouldn't be surprised if Ron Paul beat him in some primaries (Paul's supporters are much more enthusiastic than McCain's).

How bad is it for McCain? Well, it's so bad that his support in his own home state of Arizona has been slipping away since the first of this year. In February, McCain had the support of 44% of his fellow Arizonans. In late April, that support was down to 32%. It now stands at 24%. He is barely ahead of the competition there (Romney 19%, Giuliani 18% and Thompson 17%).

If he's slipping that badly in his home state, how can he expect to win in the rest of the country? I must admit I don't understand the campaign he is running. He just spent a bunch of money making a film about his being a POW. I hope he doesn't expect that to help his campaign. Anyone who doesn't already know that probably doesn't care enough about politics to be a voter. Surely he's not going for sympathy votes!

I know that the major candidates are all hoping to win in the early primary states (and Texas in not one of those), but I think McCain made a mistake in not coming to Texas for the Republican straw poll. With his campaign going in the dumper, he really needs something to pick it up -- anything. If he had bothered to come down, the Texas right-wingers might have rewarded him for supporting Bush's war.

Surely, he wasn't afraid of losing to Duncan Hunter -- or was he?