Rep. King Lied About Accepting Gifts

Last month, We learned that State Rep. Phil King (R-Weatherford) was accepting unethical and very possibly illegal campaign help from ATandT. The problem is that Rep. King's House Committee oversees companies like ATandT, and King is the chairman of the committee. Now we find that may just have been a little of what is going on, and it has been happening for a while.

In 2005, King threw a dinner for the members of his Regulated Industries Committee. It just happened to be held at the house of a lobbyist representing some of the very industries that committee regulates. The catering for the party was also paid for by a couple of those industries who had business before the committee.

It also turns out that at least a third of his current contributions have come from the PACs of these regulated industries. Of course, these companies say they're just giving King donations, parties and gifts because they like him and not because they're trying to buy his vote. But can there really be anyone who doesn't think these companies expect something in return?

And we know we can't believe what King says, because he doesn't mind lying about it. He watched the 2004 Super Bowl from the luxury box of CenterPoint Energy, but told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that they didn't pay for his tickets. Now, four years later, he is forced to admit that the energy company did give him the tickets.

King has been bought and paid for by the companies he is supposed to be regulating. It doesn't get more unethical than that. The good people of Weatherford should be embarrassed by his actions.They should vote him out in the upcoming election.

They don't have to do it in November with a Democrat. If they want to be represented by a Republican, King has an honest Republican opponent in the primary next month -- former mayor Joe Tison. But whether they replace him with a Republican or a Democrat, replace him they must.

It time to start cleaning up the corruption in state leadership, and Rep. King would be a good place to start.

Chicken Little Was Right !

The "experts" are finally beginning to admit that we're in a lot more trouble than the Bush administration wants to admit. According to Bush, the economy is basically good -- it just needs a little stimulus to get it going again. It looks like he's just hiding his head in the sand again. Bush seems to think if he doesn't admit it, it won't happen.

The last two recessions we had lasted about 8 months each. But economic experts say that the huge federal deficit, heavy consumer debt and rising inflation will make this recession worse and longer-lasting than any recession in over 20 years -- maybe the worst since the Great Depression.

They are right, but if we don't get the corporate-loving Republicans out-of-office and change the economic direction of this country, we could be looking at something even worse than a recession.

The last time there was such a huge gap between the rich and the rest of America was the "roaring twenties". Then, as now, we had a Republican administration that believed as long as the corporations were doing good, then everyone would do good. It was not true then and it's not true now.

At that time, we had many who were driven off their small farms. Today, we have millions who are being driven from their homes. At that time, jobs began to disappear and millions were out of work. Today, we have corporations that are shipping many of our highest-paying industrial jobs overseas, and they are being replaced with low-paying service sector jobs -- jobs that will not support a family.

There are those who say we have safety nets that would prevent another depression. I think they are wrong. The few safety nets we had, have been defunded and cut by the same Republicans who give huge tax cuts to the rich.

We are currently sitting on the edge of disaster in this country. The absolute worst thing we could do is return the Republicans to power in November. Another few years of the current economic policies and we'll be staring another Great Depression in the face.

We must not only put a Democrat in the White House, but we must also give that Democrat large Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress -- large enough majorities so real change can take place.

I hate to sound like Chicken Little, but the cracks are starting and the sky may be falling soon.

Looking Forward To March 4th

Tuesday was an exciting night, and I stayed up way too late watching the returns. But for a political junkie like myself, that was one of the best nights of the year -- so far. A few months ago, nearly all of us thought Tuesday was going to tell us who the nominee will be, but that didn't happen. At this point, I don't think anyone knows who the Democratic nominee will be.

Obama won the most states last night, while Clinton won the biggest states. But when they added up all of the votes for all of the states on Super Tuesday, it was virtually a tie. Both Clinton and Obama finished with slightly more than 17,000,000 votes. But as interesting as all that is, it is just the window-dressing. The only thing that matters are delegates.

Obama still has a small lead in pledged delegates, but when you add in the super-delegates, the lead goes to Clinton. According to the pundits, the next few states have large black populations or are caucus states. It is believed that Obama will draw even closer in total delegates in these states. That means when the show gets to Texas and Ohio on March 4th, the two will probably be nearly tied in delegates.

Wow! I would have been happy just to have the issue undecided when it got to Texas, but this is even better. Texas and Ohio have a lot of delegates, and could be the states that puts one or the other in the lead to stay. This is heady stuff for a Texas voter. We're used to it being all over but the shouting by the time we get to vote.

Here are the delegate totals so far:

CLINTON

pledged delegates 630

superdelegates 193

total delegates 823

OBAMA

pledged delegates 635

superdelegates 106

total delegates 741

EDWARDS

pledged delegates 26

superdelegates 0

total delegates 26

Preliminary Thoughts On Super Tuesday

Super Tuesday has come and gone, and we still don't have a Democratic candidate chosen. This is unprecedented. That means us late voters in Texas and Ohio (and probably even Pennsylvania) will actually have a say in who the nominee will be.

Even more exciting is the fact that there really isn't a true frontrunner. Both Clinton and Obama can claim victory from last night. Obama won the most states, but Clinton won the largest states. However, with the proportional representation in choosing delegates, they will probably finish the night virtually even in delegates. We won't know for sure for a day or so, but that looks like what will happen.

There was some doubt before Super Tuesday as to whether Obama could win states without large black populations, but he laid those doubts to rest by winning states like Minnesota, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, North Dakota and Delaware. That makes this a real race to the finish -- maybe all the way to the convention.

So get ready Texans. It looks like this is still going to be open when it gets to us on March 4th. Who would have thought that would happen a few months ago? I'm excited!

TxDOT Lies Are Exposed

For months now, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has been trying to tell the citizens of Texas that they have a budget shortfall, and cannot build the highways necessary without turning many of our freeways into toll roads and giving them to private corporations.

They have even spent state money on publicists to try and convince voters of this. Then they said they had a shortfall of funds and put many planned road projects on hold. They blamed the budget shortfall on a lack of expected state and federal funds.

Now the truth comes out. The problem was due to their own internal communications. They admitted they had three different officials estimating funds they would receive, and wound up double-counting several sources. But that only accounted for $1.1 billion.

State Senator Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo) said she believes TxDOT has invented the budget crunch as a ploy to put pressure on legislators to allow more building of private toll roads. She points out the legislature gave TxDOT $23 billion in the last session -- $7.5 billion more than the previous legislature. Senators also pointed out that TxDOT has not used billions of dollars in bonds approved by voters.

The truth is there is NO NEED FOR PRIVATE TOLL ROADS in Texas. The supposed need was just a lie concocted by state Republican leaders and promoted by TxDOT officials. It's just a money-making scheme (probably full of kick-backs) to enrich their corporate buddies.

It is time for new leadership at the top levels of TxDOT. But we need to go even further. We also need to replace the state Republican leadership that put these nuts into those positions. The whole thing stinks of corruption.

We can make a good start on this by electing more Democrats to the state legislature this November.

Private Bids Rejected For Christmas Mountains

It's beginning to look like the people of Texas may have scored a victory. A couple of months ago, Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson had announced that his office was going to sell a parcel of public land containing the Christmas Mountains to a private buyer. Bids had been received from a couple in Dallas and a businessman in Houston.

This caused a furor across the state. When the land was donated to the state a few years ago, it was on condition that it not be sold to private interests but must remain available for use by the citizens of Texas. The agreement at that time stated the land must be offered to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department or the National Park Service, if the Land Office was going to get rid of it.

Texas Parks and Wildlife said they did not want the land. They have been critically underfunded by the Republicans in the last few years and probably could not afford to take on a new area. I imagine they also didn't want to upset state Republican leaders at a time when they are still trying to get adequately funded for their current parks and wildlife areas.

But the National Park Service did want the land. It is adjacent to the Big Bend National Park, and would make an excellent addition to the national park.

But Patterson didn't want to give the land to them. He said it was because they wouldn't allow guns in the park. Personally, I think he just wanted to go through with the private sale he had planned. After all, nothing speaks louder to a Republican than money.

However, this is an election year. It looks like the state Republican leadership was afraid the public outrage might translate into lost votes. Because yesterday, the Land Office rejected both of the private bids without comment.

With both private bids rejected, it looks like the Christmas Mountains will soon become a part of the Big Bend National Park. This means it will remain available for use by all the citizens of Texas.

The sad part of this whole affair is that the organization that gave the land to the state was very upset by the attempt to sell it to private interests after promising not to do that. They have stated that they might not give any more gifts to Texas because they aren't sure they can trust the state government to keep its promises.

They just learned a valuable lesson about our Republican leaders -- unless you're a rich corporation, you really can't trust them.

Holocaust Float Banned At Rio's Carnival

Carnival in Rio had a bit of controversy this year. One of the Samba Schools (Viradouro) had planned to use a float that contained hundreds of mannequins made up to resemble dead bodies. The "bodies" were to represent the Holocaust of World War II, and the float was to be preceded by a dancing Hitler.

The school said the float was designed to remind people of the past horror so it would not happen again. But Jewish groups in the country saw it differently. They felt the float trivialized the Holocaust, and they were outraged. One of the judges of the Samba parade agreed and banned the float.

Viradouro replaced the float with one who's theme was the importance of "freedom of expression". It had people dressed all in white and with gags on their mouths, and had a banner reading "You don't build the future by burying the past". The new float is pictured above.

Was the float in bad taste? Probably. Should it have been banned? That's a harder question for someone who believes in free speech. I can understand both sides of the argument.

What do you think?

Bush Budget Is A Horror Story

America is racing headlong into a serious recession (depression?) and Bush doesn't have a clue what to do about it. He clearly shows this with the ridiculous budget he has sent to Congress. He has proposed a budget that will set a record level of deficit spending, but does very little for the ordinary Americans who need help.

It will give many Americans a few hundred dollars in a one-time giveaway, but this does nothing to solve the problems these people face -- rising prices, stagnant wages, record home foreclosures, disappearing jobs, and a broken healthcare system. The only real effect this "stimulus package" will have is to increase profits for the corporations (who are already making more money than ever).

Then, to make things worse, he wants to make permanent trillions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy. Again, this is helping the people who don't need any help, but does nothing for those who need help.

Then he wants to give the military-industrial complex a huge 7.5% increase, while demanding that most social programs settle for 1% (far below the inflation rate) and others get cut or eliminated. Again, he's helping the rich and punishing everyone else.

He even wants to slash education funds by $3.2 billion. Of course these cuts will have to be made up by middle and working class people on the state and local level -- the very people the recession is hitting the hardest.

And he doesn't leave the elderly out either while dishing out the pain. He wants to cut Medicare by another $200 billion. This program is already so underfunded by Republicans that two-thirds of doctors refuse to take new Medicare patients. How will an elderly person be able to find a doctor after those new cuts?

I have to stop before I throw up. Bush's new budget is an abomination. It is not even worth amending. Congress needs to just toss it in the trash and start over.

It is time for Democrats to finally stand up to Bush and act to protect ordinary Americans. They must say no to every part of this insane budget.

Religion Taken Too Far

Many christians (and other religious fanatics) want to view the entire world as just a battle between good and evil -- between God and the Devil. They even take this view into the lives of ordinary humans. Free will is not nearly as important as the influence of God and Satan.

If a person shows some weakness or imperfection, makes a mistake, or just disagrees with how these people view the world, then it must be the effect of Beelzebub or his minions. Whereas, people who show strength, make good decisions, or just agree with their world view have been helped or "graced" by God or Jesus.

This religious world view gives humans very little credit for the good or evil they do. A common example of this kind of thinking is an athlete that thanks Jesus because he won. It makes me wonder why Jesus didn't like the other athletes. Is the winner saying he is a better person, purer in heart or prayed harder than the others? It strikes me as a backhanded and religious way of boasting. The race goes to the swiftest -- not God's favorite.

Most of the time, this kind of irrational behavior is just irrating, but when it's taken to its logical conclusion it can become very hurtful or even dangerous. Take the example of Jon David Clark of Odessa. He is now in the Ector County Jail charged with murder. Why? He took his religious views to their logical conclusion.

His wife was not acting as he thought was "godly", so he decided she was possessed by the devil. He then decided he must perform an exorcism, so he got on top on her and pinned her to the floor face down until she died. But he says it's not his fault. The Devil entered his body while he was on top of her and caused her death. Ridiculous!

Whether there is a God and Devil is unimportant to this discussion. Either way, we must stop blaming them for our own or other people's behavior. Humans make their own decisions and should be held responsible for those decisions. If you hurt another person, you should be punished. If you help another person, you should be praised.

God didn't make you do it, and neither did the Devil.

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My Choice Is Made For President

As you regular readers know, my first choice to be the Democratic nominee for president was New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. But the vast majority of early Democratic voters didn't see things my way, and Richardson dropped out after the New Hampshire primary.

That left me with a dilemma -- who would I support in the Texas primary if things got that far? My choice was between Edwards and Obama, and I was leaning towards Edwards. I really liked the progressive and populist ideas he was putting forward. I also thought he was probably the most electable.

My fellow Democrats have a lot more faith in the American voters than I do. I believe America to still be a very racist and misogynist nation, and I'm not at all sure that either a black or a woman can be elected -- even with the country in the current heavily Democratic mood.

Don't get me wrong -- I'd love to see it happen. I was a Jesse Jackson delegate to the state convention twice. I agree with what Bill Clinton told a black congregation yesterday, in that I've waited my whole life to vote for a black or woman candidate for president. But the "Bradley effect" scares me. It's easy for whites to say they'll vote for a black or woman in public, but what will they do in the privacy of the voting booth?

But enough of my paranoia. Democrats are stepping boldly into the future in this election. Either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic nominee. When Edwards dropped out last week, that made it a sure thing.

I have chosen to support Barack Obama simply because I believe he is the most liberal of the two candidates. The more I see of Hillary Clinton, the more I believe her politics are identical to Bill's -- moderate and corporate-friendly. After the last 8 years, we need a radical change in this country. I think we are more likely to get that from Obama.

I will vote for Barack Obama in the Texas primary and again at the precinct caucus this March.

But I just hope America is ready for whoever is nominated. With the war lost in Iraq, the Taliban coming back in Afghanistan and a recession looming, we cannot afford another Republican in the White House.

Texans To Choose New License Plate

Do you like the current license plate the state of Texas is using? If you don't, this week is your chance to vote on changing it. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is letting Texans vote for this week only on what they would like their new license plate to look like.

The new plates will start being issued in 2009. If you'd like to vote, you can do so at http://www.txdot.gov/. There are four choices of new plates and the current plate to choose from. The choices are:

- NEW TEXAS. This red, white and blue plate features a composite of skylines from several Texas cities at the bottom and the word "Texas" in black script at the top.

- TRADITIONAL TEXAS. This plate features blue highlights and a stark, white background with a gold Texas star at the bottom and a bold, red "Texas" in capital letters at the top.

- LONE STAR TEXAS. A white star stands out in the top left corner along with wide brushes of red and blue against a large Texas sky. A low-lying mountain range runs along the bottom.

- NATURAL TEXAS. The plate is covered with wildflowers.

- MY TEXAS. The current plate that is being used.

Kenneth Copeland - Preacher Or Con-Man ?

I'm beginning to think that TV preacher Kenneth Copeland has completely lost his mind. Either that or he has a bonafide God complex. He seems to think that being a preacher puts him above the laws of the United States of America.

Senator Grassley recently started an investigation of several of these TV preachers, including Copeland. This is an investigation that is long overdue. Many of these preachers take the donations of viewers to not just provide a decent living for themselves and do good works with the rest -- they make themselves filthy rich with expensive clothes, cars, houses and other possessions.

In this country, we give churches a tax exempt status. Even though I'm not religious, I don't have a problem with that. But there are rules that even tax-exempt organizations must follow. It is expected that they use those tax-exemt funds to do good works such as helping the needy. If these organizations do nothing but make their leaders rich, then they are violating the rules laid down and do not deserve the tax-exempt status.

Sen. Grassley's investigation is not a violation of religious freedom. He is simply trying to see if these are preachers following the rules, or TV con-men using religion to cloak their tax-evasion. To determine that, he has asked to see the books of six TV preachers. But Kenneth Copeland has decided that being a self-appointed TV preacher gives him the right to ignore the law.

Copeland is refusing to cooperate and open his books to the U.S. government. He recently said about the books, "It's not yours, it's God's, and your not going to get it, and that''s something I'll go to prison over. So, just get over it!"

He's wrong. The books in question don't belong to God -- they belong to Kenneth Copeland. And the government has every right to see them. There's only one reason for Copeland to refuse to open the books to government scrutiny. He's trying to hide something.

There's nothing in the Bible that says a preacher doesn't have to obey the law. In fact, the New Testament tells christians to render unto Ceasar that which is Ceasar's. In short, to obey the law. Copeland is not special because he's a TV preacher. He's required to obey the law like all other christians (and non-christians).

Personally, I'd like to see the government take him up on his jail offer, but I doubt that'll happen. But if he continues to refuse to cooperate, they should take away his tax-exempt status and also demand payment of millions in back taxes. That tax-exempt status is only for those who play by the rules.

Now it comes out that Copeland has been raising money for presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. He recently raised $100,000 in cash and $1 million in pledges for the candidate. Now I'm not accusing Huckabee of any wrongdoing, but is it smart to align himself with Copeland at this time?

It may help him in the short term with some evangelicals, but it will hurt him in the long run. Most Americans are growing tired of the rich TV preachers who flaunt their wealth, especially the ones that also flaunt the rules.

Caught The Flu Bug

Sorry I haven't posted for the last couple of days. But I've spent the last couple of days curled up in the fetal position shivering and aching with a fever and a sore throat. Looks like I seem to have caught the flu bug that's going around.

But today, I started to feel a little better -- almost human again. I guess while that flu shot didn't keep me from getting it, it did lessen the time I'd have to suffer with it. With a little luck, I should be back to full-speed by Super Tuesday.