Why Won't Lou Dobbs Tell The Whole Truth ?

Last year, two Border Patrol agents were convicted of breaking the law, and were sentenced to 11 and 12 year terms in a federal prison. Since that time, CNN commentator Lou Dobbs (pictured above) has taken up their cause.

According to Dobbs, these were "two outstanding Border Patrol agents" who were just doing their jobs when they got into a gun battle with a smuggler. He says they are being punished by the United States government for just doing their jobs. He has used part of 131 different shows and one full-hour show to spread this message.

He has even gone so far as to call President Bush "gutless" for not immediately pardoning the two agents. I'm not usually a defender of Bush as you regular readers know, but I really don't see that Bush could have pardoned these two men. Dobbs is not telling the whole story. He is only telling a very slanted version.

Here is how the SPLC describes what really happened:

Border Patrol agents Ignacio "Nacho" Ramos and José Alonso Compean attacked an unarmed border-crosser who was trying to surrender, shot at him 15 times and wounded him as he fled, then tampered with the crime scene and failed to report the shooting as required to their supervisors. For their crimes, a federal court in Texas sentenced the men last year to terms of 11 and 12 years in prison.

Why are so many associated with the law-and-order right singing the praises of these two felons? Because the man who was shot turned out later to have been part of a marijuana-smuggling operation. Ramos and Compean didn't know that at the time — the man was on foot and tried to surrender, and the agents only found the drugs in a van after he managed to flee on foot back to Mexico, badly wounded.

Once you know the truth, these agents don't sound so outstanding. They are neither innocent nor heroic, as Dobbs would have us believe. They are criminals who belong exactly where they currently are -- in prison.

So why is Dobbs not telling the whole truth? I think it's because this incident doesn't fit in with his simple black and white view of the world. He's spent the last few years trying to demonize undocumented immigrants and lionize Border Patrol agents.

But the truth is a bit more complicated than that. Sometimes undocumented immigrants are just men and women trying to feed, clothe and provide a better future for their families. Sometimes even criminals are unarmed and surrender peacefully. And sometimes law enforcement officers break the rules and are unnecessarily violent.

Personally, I just don't see how anyone, even someone opposed to illegal immigration, can defend the criminal actions of these agents.

Another Republican In Criminal Trouble

This is starting to get ridiculous. It seems like almost daily that another Republican turns up with sexual, ethical or criminal troubles. A couple of days ago, we heard about a former Michigan Republican Congressman and U.N. delegate that was indicted for taking $50,000 to lobby for terrorists and then lying to the FBI about it.

Yesterday, we learned that Republican State Rep. Phil King of Weatherford is receiving corporate help in his campaign that is unethical, if not downright illegal.

Now we've got another Republican in trouble. Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina (pictured above) and his wife have been indicted on criminal charges. Terry Yates, the judge's attorney, said Justice Medina was indicted for tampering with evidence and Mrs. Medina was indicted for arson.

The couple's Houston-area home was destroyed by fire last June and some neighboring homes were damaged. Although the fire was labeled as arson, the Medinas denied any responsibility and said at the time they were cooperating with authorities.

Medina was Rick Perry's attorney until Perry appointed him to fill a vacancy on the Texas Supreme Court in November of 2004. He was elected to the position in 2006.

There have been so many Republican officials getting in trouble that it's hard to keep up with them without a scorecard. I wonder who will be the next one to fall?

Rep. King Gets Some Campaign Help From ATandT

State Rep. Phil King (R-Weatherford) is head of the House Regulated Industries Committee. Some have said he's just a bit too close to some of the industries that the committee is supposed to regulate. Some recent evidence shows that may well be true.

King (pictured above) has opposition in the Republican primary from former Weatherford mayor Joe Tison, and in the general election from Democrat Charles William Randolph. It looks like his corporate friends may be starting to worry he might not get re-elected.

ATandT-Texas company president Jim Epperson sent a memo last week to all company employees and retirees living in King's district. The memo asked them to "make the time to help your state representative win this important race".

ATandT says the letter is a legal effort by its PAC. Epperson just happens to be both chairman of the PAC and company president of ATandT. Others disagree and see it as illegal corporate help in a campaign.

Tom Smith, Texas head of Public Citizen, said, "Texas law has long prohibited corporations from contributing to campaigns. The contributions can come in money but also from labor, and we think it's inappropriate for a regulated industry to be turning their staff people out to support a sitting legislator who is in a position to grant them large favors in return."

King's primary opponent, Joe Tison, said, "I think [the letter] adds to the perception that...he does spend more time working for the industries than he has doing things for his constituents in Parker and Wise counties."

In 2005, King helped to pass a telecommunications bill that was very advantageous to ATandT. Now it looks like the corporation wants to make sure their legislator gets re-elected.

This is just one example of how the state Republican leadership has sold out to the corporations. If ATandT wants King re-elected so badly, then I recommend the people in his district vote for his opponent.

The ordinary citizens of Texas will never get a break until the corporate hold over our state leadership is broken.

Republicans Trying To Cover For Tape Destruction

It recently became known that the CIA had destroyed some tapes they made that showed the torture of terrorist suspects. The tapes could have been an embarrassment to the Bush administration, who ordered the torture while telling the world that no torture was being done.

Now it looks like the Republicans in Congress are trying to provide some cover for Bush in the tape destruction. Yesterday, Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Michigan) said of the man who ordered the destruction,Jose Rodriguez, "It appears he hadn't gotten authority from anyone. It appears he got direction to make sure the tapes were not destroyed. I believe there are parts of the intelligence community that don't believe they are accountable to Congress and may not be accountable to their own superiors in the intelligence community..."

Hoekstra made that statement after hearing testimony from John Rizzo, the general counsel for the CIA. Rizzo testified that although the CIA legal department said the destruction was legal, he and CIA director Porter Goss (pictured above) had "recommended" the tapes not be destroyed.

It looks like the Bush administration has decided to throw Rodriguez under the bus. This wouldn't be the first time they have sacrificed an underling to save higher-ups in the White House (remember Scooter Libby).

I find this very hard to believe. CIA underlings demanded a memo from the White House assuring them they had support from the "highest authority" before they would commence with the torturing. Now we're supposed to believe these same underlings would destroy evidence in direct defiance of their superiors.

If you believe that, I've got some ocean-front property in Amarillo that I'll sell real cheap.

Republican Arrested For Supporting Terrorists

It has been common for Republicans to accuse Democrats, liberals, peace activists and anyone else who disagreed with them with aiding the terrorists. Of course, none of the accusations were true. But that didn't stop the Republicans from making the absurd accusations in an effort to shore up their own crumbling political fortunes.

That's why I was surprised to read about the REPUBLICAN that was arrested for aiding the terrorists. But he was not just a Republican. He was a former two-term Republican member of the United States House of Representatives (from 1981-1987). He was also appointed by Ronald Reagan to serve as a delegate to the United Nations in 1987.

So this was not someone who just identified himself as a Republican. This was a bonafide Reagan-Republican. A member of the conservative Republican establishment.

Yesterday, Michigan Republican, Mark Deli Siljander was indicted on federal charges of money laundering, conspiracy and obstructing justice. The money laundering and conspiracy charges spring from his helping an Islamic charity that was funneling money to terrorists, including $130,000 to an al-Queda terrorist who has threatened American troops in Afghanistan.

The obstructing justice charge came from his lying to federal authorities investigating the charity. Siljander denied he had been hired to lobby for the charity. The truth was that he had been paid $50,000 to lobby for the group. Even worse, the money used to pay him turned out to be stolen from the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Who could have guessed that when the Republicans talked about politicians aiding the terrorists, they were actually talking about one of their own? Is there anybody these guys won't take money from?

Chronicle Improves Its Web Site

I must confess that I'm a news junkie, especially on the internet. Each day, I scan multiple Texas, national and international web sites to catch up on what's happening in the world. The news business is changing fast, and most news sources have found that they must have a presence on the internet.

Although I live all the way across the state, one of my favorite sites on the internet is the site offered by the Houston Chronicle. As Texas newspapers go, the Chronicle site (chron.com) is one of the better ones.

When I clicked on the Chronicle site today, I got a little surprise. They have redesigned their site. I like the re-design. The site is more pleasing to the eye than the old site was, and is easier to read. The old site had sort of a cramped feeling, but the new site doesn't.

That is surprising because the headlines are in a larger and bolder print. They have also changed the color of the headlines to a more pleasing blue color. But even though the new site seems to be less crowded and has larger headlines, they actually seem to have included more stories on the page.

Good job, Chronicle. The new site is a definite improvement.

Another one of my favorites, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, has a blurb on their front page saying they are also in the process of re-designing their web site. The new site is supposed to be unveiled in a few days, and I'm looking forward to it. I hope they do as well as the Chronicle did.

Now I just wish my current hometown newspaper, the Amarillo Globe News, would do something about their web site. Their problem is not one of layout though, but a lack of unbiased and readable content.

Gas Tax Should Be Raised Significantly

There is no doubt that the roads and bridges in Texas and the United States are in need of serious repair. For the last few years, Republicans both on the state and national level have been only interested in cutting taxes for their rich friends, and have ignored our crumbling infrastructure.

Now we are left with overcrowded highways full of potholes and bridges on the verge of collapse. It is obvious that something must be done.

A congressional committee was assigned to determine what should be done. The National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission has now reported its findings. Like it or not, this committee says we must bite the bullet and raise the national gas tax by 25-40 cents a gallon. The federal tax is currently 18.4 cents a gallon.

They further said the states should also raise their portion of the gas tax. Currently, Texas has a 20 cent a gallon tax.

The committee is right. We cannot ignore our infrastructure any longer. I believe we should raise both the federal and the state gas tax by 25 cents a gallon for each.

This would add 50 cents to the cost of a gallon of gas, but it is needed. However, I would couple this rise in the gas tax with an absolute ban on new toll roads, including the Trans-Texas Corridor.

Of course our Republican leadership is howling over the proposed gas tax hikes. They would like voters to believe they are opposed to taxes being raised. That is a lie.

They are not opposed to imposing new taxes on Texas and United States citizens. They just want to hide their tax raise by calling it a toll, and funneling it into the pockets of rich corporations instead of using it to build new (free) roads and repairing older roads and bridges.

The truth is that their hidden toll tax would actually cost ordinary citizens more than an honest raising of the gas tax, and it would provide less in the repairing and modernizing of our infrastructure.

It is time to stop believing the Republican lies while paying their exorbitant hidden taxes. It is time to significantly raise the gas tax, ban all new toll roads and rebuild our infrastructure.

FWISD Compromises On County Voting

Last week I posted about the Fort Worth Independent School District refusing to allow Tarrant County election officials to use 34 schools as voting sites. They said they had refused because the schools were taking the TAKS test and they didn't want to disturb the students.

At the time, I rebuked the school district. These schools are public buildings and should be available for important public functions. There is no more important public function than voting. To relocate 34 voting sites at the last minute, even if it could be done, would have caused great confusion for voters and may have even prevented some late voters from finding their new site in time to vote.

It looks like someone in the school district administration has had an attack of common sense. After elections officials asked again to use 33 of the schools, school officials have countered with an offer to allow voting at 30 of the schools.

School district administrators say they still don't want to allow voting at three low-performing schools. They want to do everything they can to see these students are given a chance to improve their test scores. At the other 30 schools, the district will assign an extra person to help keep the testing and voting separate. They are asking that the county also provide extra workers at these sites.

This puts the ball back in the county's court. I believe the school district has made an acceptable compromise offer. The county should find a new site for the three precincts in queston and honor the school district's request for extra workers at the other 30 sites.

There may be some who see this as an effort to dimish the minority turnout, since all three of the schools not being used are in minority neighborhoods. If this was a general election, I might agree.

But this is a primary election, and I believe this was caused by our state leaders blundering and scheduling two important events on the same date. I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt this time.

However, there will be no excuse for anything like this happening again this November. It is incumbant on state officials to get together and make sure there are no conflicts for the general election. All the traditional voting sites must be available.

For this primary, the county and the parties must cooperate to make sure the voters in the changed precincts know where to go to vote.

Republicans Offer Michigan False Hope

Michigan is a state in economic trouble -- even more than the nation as a whole. It has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country at more than 7%, and it has steadily lost good-paying jobs for the last seven years. It will probably lose more jobs this year.

It is into this climate that the Republicans come looking for votes. At the present time, it looks like McCain and Romney are in a virtual tie and either one could claim Michigan's delegates (or at least the half that remain. The RNC took the other half away because of the early primary date).

Both Romney and McCain are busy telling the voters in Michigan that they are the person who can fix Michigan's economic woes. It is not true. Romney is the ultimate corporatist. He is promising to bring back the auto industry. The only problem with that is the auto industry didn't close Michigan factories because of a poor economy.

They did it to outsource and take advantage of cheap labor.They are making more cars than ever. They are just doing it in other countries. The corporatist Romney is not going to bring these jobs back.

Neither is McCain -- the ultimate free-trader. He talks of re-training, but for what jobs? The new jobs that do come are service jobs that pay less than half the wages of the industrial jobs that are leaving.

This corporatist and this free-trader will not solve Michigan's economic problems. It is their Republican policies (like NAFTA) that created the problems in the first place.

Frankly, it doesn't matter which of them wins the primary there, Michigan would be foolish to vote for either in November.

Hearings To Begin On Trans-Texas Corridor

The public is finally going to get a little bit of say about the massive construction boondoggle the Republicans (and some Democrats) are trying to foist on the citizens of Texas. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) will have a series of public hearings soon on the Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC).

The TTC is the name given to 4,000 miles of new toll roads that would criss-cross the state. Through imminent domain, it would gobble up over 500,000 acres of prime Texas farm and ranch land. It would also turn over the control of these new toll roads to foreign companies, who would reap the benefits of exorbitant tolls on Texans for at least the next 50 years.

The Republican leadership in Austin have already reached secret agreement with at least one foreign corporation -- a Spanish company called Cintra. This secret contract would not only turn over the road to the Spanish company for 50 years to collect tolls, but if they don't make the windfall profits they expect then the Texas taxpayers must make up the difference. In other words, those windfall profits are guaranteed by our tax dollars.

State leaders would like for Texans to believe that this is the only way for Texas to get new roads. That is a lie. What they don't tell Texans is that raising the gas tax could fund new FREE highways at a much cheaper cost than the tolls that would be charged.

The TTC is a very bad deal for the citizens of Texas. It would be great for foriegn corporations and the politicians on their payroll, but this $200 billion boondoggle would bleed the citizens of Texas dry.

Do you want to turn our highways over to foreign countries? Do you want to have to pay exorbitant tolls to drive across our state? If not, then you must speak out now.

But even more important, you must vote the TTC supporters out in the next election (most of whom are Republicans). Before you vote for a state senator or representative, make sure they don't support the massive TTC scheme to rob the citizens of Texas.

Here are the scheduled public hearings:

1/15 - Texarkana

1/16 - Carthage

1/17 - Lufkin

1/22 - Hempstead

1/23 - Huntsville

1/24 - Rosenburg

1/28 - Bellville

1/29 - Victoria

1/31 - Weslaco

2/5 - Laredo

2/6 - Robstown

Our Brain Betrays Us As Consumers

It turns out that price may be more important than taste when it comes to having a pleasurable wine experience. That's the conclusion of a group of researchers from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the California Institute of Technology.

They say that people trick themselves into enjoying an expensive wine more than an inexpensive one -- regardless of the actual taste. They served a group of people the same wine, but told them that some glasses of it cost a lot more than other glasses.

The group voiced significantly more pleasure in the glasses of wine they were told were expensive (even though the same wine was in all of the glasses). It seems that an expectation of quality triggers activity in the part of the brain that registers pleasure (medial orbitofrontal cortex), even though this part of the brain has nothing to do with taste.

I kind of wish they hadn't done this study. It just tells marketers that the easiest way to improve the perception of quality is to raise the price -- the more the better. Goodby, inexpensive wine!

Trial Date Set For Potter County Sheriff

As some of you may know, Amarillo has its own elected official scandal that is currently being played out at this time. After an FBI investigation, Potter County Sheriff Mike Shumate was charged with accepting bribes from a company that services the jail's commissary. He accepted gifts, trips and cash.

Shumate was also charged with not reporting all his campaign donations. The sheriff is currently free on bond and awaiting trial. Amazingly, he has refused to step down until the trial is over, and is still acting as sheriff.

The Texas Attorney General's Office will be handling the prosecution. Last Friday, the attorney's met and set a trial date. The trial is now scheduled to begin on June 2nd, and is expected to last at least a couple of weeks.

The sheriff says he expects to be exonerated, and is running for re-election. Since the trial will not be until June, it should be interesting to see how the March primary turns out. Shumate has four opponents in the Republican primary (which he is running in).

If he survives the Republican primary, he will have a Democratic opponent in the Fall.

Houston Democrat In Legal Trouble

In the last couple of years, there seems to have been an unending stream of Republicans with legal problems and embarrassing revelations. But it looks like they're not the only party with embarrassing candidates.

Houston State Representative Borris Miles, a Democrat, is currently being investigated by the Harris County District Attorney. He has been accused of threatening and pulling a gun on a business associate.

Houston investor David Harris said he was throwing a party for his management company when Borris Miles "crashed" the party. Harris said Miles was angry that Harris had invested in a rival insurance agency instead of Miles' agency.

He said Miles kissed him on both cheeks and the mouth, then took out a gun and told him, "I told you to get out of the insurance business. There ain't room in this town for the two of us. I'm going to come after you and take you down." He said Miles also referred to himself as a "gangster" and a "thug", then forcibly kissed another man's wife before leaving.

I don't know what happened at the party, but the accusations are very disturbing. Just the fact that he would crash a party he was not invited to is bad enough. It looks like Miles may be in some trouble, since this happened at a party and evidently there are several witnesses. It's not just one man's word against another.

I think the voters in that district may need a new state representative.

Chair Of Joint Chiefs Wants To Close Gitmo

The Bush administration thought they were going to do an end run around U.S. and international law, by using the Guantanamo Bay Naval base as a place to stash prisoners from the Afghani and Iraqi wars. Located on the tip of Cuba, it is accessible only with permission of the U.S. military.

Bush and Cheney figured that the prisoners there would be hidden from the world. That way they could deny these prisoners any legal rights, and even cut them off from defense lawyers. They could torture and humiliate the prisoners and no one would know.

But it hasn't worked out that way. The torture and humiliation being used was public knowledge from the start. Further, the denial of basic human and legal rights has made the Bush administration a pariah among civilized nations. Every day that the illegal Guantanamo prisons remain open makes them look worse.

None of this is secret, even though the Bush administration has tried to "spin" it to make themselves not look so bad. But the fact is that they know what a blunder it has been. Sec. Gates has already said Guantanamo needs to be closed. Now he has company.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States military, Admiral Mike Mullen, has made it known that he would also like to see Guantanamo closed. He made this known to reporters on Sunday. Mullen said, "I'd like to see it shut down. I believe that from the standpoint of how it reflects on us that it's been pretty damaging."

The problem now is they don't know what to do with the prisoners. If they move them to the mainland United States, they're going to have to give them access to the courts here. That would be a disaster since they don't really have any evidence against them. If they did, they would have convicted them of something years ago.

That's one reason for the torture. They were hoping to be able to use torture confessions in the military tribunals. There's no way torture confessions can be used in a U.S. court.

If they just release them, that would be an admission that they shouldn't have imprisoned and tortured them in the first place. So by trying to avoid the law by using Guantanamo, the Bush administration has just created a mess for themselves -- one that they don't know how to get out of.

And each day it makes the United States look worse.