This website is dedicated to ground
zero for democracy. Thanks to Congressvarmint Tom DeLay and Governor
Rick Perry, the good people of the Texas 22nd will soon be the only people
in America since 1776 to have taxation without representation. Our
forefathers shed blood over this. However, our local Republicans think
it's just hunkey dorey, and
they will hit you if you try to say otherwise.
This site mostly is about
local politics. Nevertheless, you folks from foreign states can
better understand what the fool tarnation is going on down there.
Here's the deal: This ain't a blog. It's a
professional political organization. Send me email - I'll post it if
I feel like it.
DeLay told The Hill that he’s planning to write his
memoirs, and is exploring a number of other possible venues that will
keep him involved in public policy after he returns to private life.
Oh Honey, that's a dollar table seller if I ever saw one.
Venues? Is that what they're calling overpaid democracy-killing
lobbyists nowadays?
Maybe Tom and Karl Rove
can have battling biographies.
“Mr. Bush
also called for repealing several hundred million dollars in
subsidies, also in the energy bill, for an industry-run deepwater
drilling research center in Sugar Land, Tex. That project's biggest
champion was Representative Tom DeLay, the former House majority
leader whose district includes Sugar Land.”
I guess that eliminates the President as a choice for writing a jacket
blurb for the book.
The Journal
also suggested that other lawmakers might be implicated. I've learned
from a well-connected source that those under intense scrutiny by the
FBI are current and former lawmakers on Defense and Intelligence
committees—including one person who now holds a powerful intelligence
post.
April 26 - Well that's the
spirit! I think the local Republican Party is taunting and goading
Commissioner Andy Meyers (read below). Go check out
www.FortBendRepublicans.com Dude, that's gotta hurt.
On the other hand,
it does give Andy something else to be outraged about. If you ever
find Andy has fainted on the courthouse parking lot, don't give him
smelling salts. Give him some outrage. It's like spinach to
Popeye!
On an unrelated note, our
Less-Than-A-Week-From-Finally-Leaving (yeah, right) GOP Party Chair Eric
Thode, made the big time media at
The Hill with his
hairbrained scheme. Yeah, he even look stoopid in bigger
print.
In one local
newspaper, Thode whines that the only criticism he's getting is from
local blogs, and he got 100 emails - count 'um, one hundred - supporting
his idea. And they're going to let HIM count the ballots?
And yes, we will be
re-producing there ballots here in printable form for your mailing
pleasure.
April 25 - Have mercy on us
all. Republican County Commissioner Andy Meyers is outraged again.
You know what that mean, don't you? He has found a reason to talk
dirty again. He's all a-twitter over flour, sugar, and eggs.
As if this wasn't enough
to hush him up.
By three o’clock that
afternoon, County Commissioner Andy Meyers, a man far too obsessed
with other people’s hoochy-koochy activities to have much of his own,
was issuing press releases and getting everybody in the county drawing
a taxpayer salary to quit whatever they were doing and get ---- well,
outraged!
Now he's upset over a billboard.
A billboard. Without. One. Single. Dirty. Word. On. It.
You may not know that I was the primary author of the County's "Sexual
Oriented Business" (SOBs) Ordinance that regulates where SOB's can be
sited, which is the only authority the state legislature grants to
counties with regard to SOBs. My initial efforts were to structure the
ordinance in a way that the only place an SOB could be located was
next to the garbage dumps in the county. I was only partially
successful because I could not get our then County Judge, Jim Adolphus,
to go along with my 3,000 feet distance from any other structure in
the county for an SOB site. We ended up with 1,500 feet distance,
which was better than none at all.
When Nooky's Erotic Bakery opened its doors, I sought to have it
closed because I believed that it did not comply with our SOB
Ordinance. Our County Attorney's office and Sheriff's Office disagreed
with my "interpretation" of SOB. The County Attorney's Office claims
that the "primary" business of the erotic bakery is food, not sexual
titillation, and therefore it does not fall under the SOB Ordinance. I
still disagree with that interpretation, but it is the sheriff, with
the assistance of the county attorney, who enforces the SOB Ordinance,
not Commissioners Court.
The State Legislature in its infinite wisdom has not seen fit to give
counties authority to regulate "billboards" in the county. As such,
the county can do nothing about the billboard. My office has contacted
the state inquiring about what the state can do if anything. The
response is the state does not regulate billboard content, unless it
is specifically pornographic.
The only thing my complaints accomplished is the bakery frosted its
windows so young kids walking by could not see the images on the
cakes, etc. If anyone wants a copy of the county's "Sexual Oriented
Business" Ordinance, he/she can get a copy from our County Attorney's
Office at (281) 341-4555.
Andy Meyers
Okay, Andy has a significantly different memory of the SOB meetings than
I do. It wasn't Jim Adolphus, but a 85% majority of the SOB
Committee who opposed the 3,000 foot difference. I was there,
Andy. I have notes. You did not write the ordinance.
You weren't even on the committee. Goodness Sake, man, find
something else that allows you to use the word "titillation" more than
normally necessary! It's embarrassing to the adults to have you do
this so often.
I have previously
suggested that we need to give Andy a flashlight to shine in parked cars
to catch teenagers necking. Now we need to give him a can of spray
paint to become Captain Andy: Guardian of the Missionary Position.
"Why do Tom DeLay supporters
always travel in groups of three? Because the first can read, the
second can write, and the third keeps an eye on those two
intellectuals."
April 23 - Okay, most folks,
even if they don’t own a tin foil helmet, have pretty much figured that
this hair-brained scheme that almost-former Fort Bend GOP party chair
Eric Thode came up with to replace DeLay on the GOP ballot is a scam.
First, Thode will print
some ballots, or a reasonable approximation thereof. Supposedly he’ll
mail them out to households where one person might have voted in one of
the last three or so GOP primaries, then he might count the ballots if
they are mailed back or hand-delivered within whatever arbitrary time
frame seems semi-appropriate.
The total will be
announced on primetime teevee at a colossal press conference complete
with air horns, or whispered over at the back parking lot of Hooter’s at
4:15 a.m., depending on who wins the vote.
Let’s just set aside the
fact that Thode doesn’t have a sterling track
record of getting his mailing address correct. I mean, he may
accidentally tell some folks to mail theirs to Idaho or some other
foreign state. It would be an accident, you know.
Look, it’s simple. If
either
Thode or his spawn
Gary Gillen were interested in open government, they wouldn’t file
their personal ethics reports with a pencil and paper so you have to
take a trip to Austin and pay money to see them. Both of them own a
computer. They could file electronically. They don’t. They are Dorks
of Darkness.
Good Lord, Thode worked
for Enron as their mouthpiece and Gillen is an exterminator. Haven’t
you people learned anything? Why don’t we just hire Katherine Harris
and then we could have 4 big boobs involved?
Our local Republicans are
angry, mean people who call each other names on the Internet machine,
try to destroy each other’s reputations, and hit old women. They don’t
want to compromise, govern, or even allow someone else to have an idea.
In short, Thode’s
junkmail plan ain’t gonna work. That might be a good thing since
there’s not a law anywhere on the books that will allow Tom DeLay to
withdraw from the race simply because he’s not going to win, so they’re
pretty much stuck with him anyway.
But, if the Republicans
insist on fighting to the death over who they would like to be Tom
DeLay’s replacement, I have a few compromise suggestions that would
cause less bloodshed and not embarrass the children. We here at the
World’s Most Dangerous Beauty Salon, Inc., Fort Bend’s only professional
political organization, will volunteer our time and effort to help with
the following ideas.
1) Who Wants To Be A
Millionaire Congressman? I’m pretty darned certain that the first
contestant would say, “Juanita, I’d like to call my Lifeline, Jack
Abramoff.”
2) Three words –
“Boardroom. Donald Trump.” Oh, for the opportunity to hear Trump say,
“Charlie Howard, you’re fired.”
3) Let Paula Abdul,
Ryan Seacrest, and Simon Cowell decide. They probably won’t do much
better than Thode and Gillen but at least somebody might get laid.
4) Poker night at Buck
Pochek’s Rural Entertainment Promoters, Political Consulting, and Bait
Camp. Buck would decide the winner by whoever gives him the most
money. That’s pretty much the way it’ll be decided anyway, but Buck
will be honest about it and count the money right in front of you.
5) Best Elvis
Impersonator. Babe, this is the way to go ---
(For the people not
from here: That's Tom DeLay, Elvis, and Sugar Land Mayor David
Wallace, not necessarily in that order)
April 22 - I have a
question.
The Texas Lawyer has an interesting article about The DeLay
Foundation and where they get their money. The land for Rio Bend
(which I kept an eye on for 10 years) sat empty with faded signs until
Ronnie Earle learned Tom's name and - kapow! - suddenly it's overnight
compound-building time.
However, just as
interesting to me is how the DeLay Foundation spends their money.
There was the whole
Desperado Motorcycle deal, with some very unfortunate pictures to
come out of it.
And now, a ---- you guessed it --- golfing event.
For the clueless,
professional golf tournaments benefit charities.
The
Administaff Classic benefits M D Anderson and Golfers Against
Cancer. Corporations sponsor these tournaments and in return for their
money, they usually get hot shot seats in a tent with air conditioning
and prissy drinks and cigars and other stuff that normal people go to
the golf course to get away from.
Corporate sponsors also
get a chance for their bigwigs to play in the pro-am before the real
tournament starts. Grown men will cut you with knives for the
chance to make fools of themselves in front of professional golfers.
I've seen it with my own eyes. It's a flabbergasting thing.
So, take a look at this
page -
click right about here. Right along with Cadillac, Coca-Cola,
Schlumberger, Wachovia, and Anheuser Busch, you find DeLay Foundation.
Why would a charity be considered a corporate sponsor? If Tom
DeLay uses charity money to play in the pro-am and smoke big ole cigars,
I'm telling Ronnie Earle and you can't stop me.
He's such a jerk.
And I don't think he's going to be able to get off the ballot, either.
I think his one last mean act before being defeated is to cause a giant
fight among local Republicans.... and you can't stop him.
April 21 - What is this? The
11 disciples and a player to be named later?
From Thode's email ----
THE
ATTACHED CARD WILL INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING NAMES IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER:
1. Pat Baig
2. Tom Campbell
3. John Devine
4. Mike Fjetland
5. State Representative Charlie Howard
6. State Senator Mike Jackson
7. Don Richardson
8. Houston City Councilmember Shelley Sekula-Gibbs
9. State Representative Robert Talton
10. State Representative Larry Taylor
11. Sugar Land Mayor David Wallace
12. A blank line will be included for any other name you wish to
choose.
GOP Party Chair for 9 more days, Eric Thode, has sent out the names of
the 11 people he considers "in the running" for the CD22 seat. If
you voted in any of the past three GOP primaries, you'll get your ballot
in the mail. Hey, where's Thelma's name?
I've seen a better
line-up at Old Broads' Softball night.
April 21 -
Check this out. GOP County Chair Eric Thode, who moved to
Harris County last October but refuses to relinquish one ounce of power
to the newly elected party chair until he's required to do so by law or
go to jail, has managed to find a way to keep power even after he's
forced to give up the title in two weeks. It's an amazing feat. I
imagine he's all aquiver with delight. As a customer
already pointed out this morning, Thode's logic wouldn't be stable
even if you mounted it on a tripod and strapped it to the San Jacinto
Monument.
Here's one of my
favorites ----
Thode
said he plans to send out a sample ballot next week to anyone in Fort
Bend County who has voted in the last three Republican primaries. It
will contain the names of the most frequently mentioned contenders for
the nomination, and request anonymous responses that Thode hopes will
gauge which prospective candidate has the most support.
Okay, we're one of the fastest growing counties in the nation, but you
must have lived here at least 6 years to get a vote in this little
adventure in closed-door democracy. That seems real fair, doesn't
it?And the guy sending the ballot out doesn't even live here anymore,
but under his rules he gets to vote. Dude, drunks down at the
Mustang Lounge can figure out that this ain't right. On Edit:
Now it appears that anybody who voted in any one of those three GOP
primaries gets to "vote" in the Thode Tally.
Additionally, any fool
with the IQ of a turnip knows that whoever prints the "ballots" can
print a few extra and send them in anonymously. And who's gonna
count these ballots? Somebody in Dade County, Florida?
The Fort Bend Republican
Party has more scams than a Vegas street dealer.
Eric, let go. Come
on, now, it won't hurt. Let Gary have the reins. No, no, no,
quit trying to shove him just because David Wallace likes him better
now.
The following was submitted to the
Leader by U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay
District 22 Precinct Chairs:
FYI, I am attaching copies of the U.S.
Constitution and Texas law on filling vacancies in the U.S. House of
Representatives. What is the law? The U.S. Constitution and Texas
Election laws apply.
U.S. Law
U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 2
is the only section that mentions replacing a House member. It simply
states: “When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State,
the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill
such Vacancies.”
That means the Governor should call for
an election, not an appointment of a single candidate. Texas law also
applies. Here is the one statute that applies to vacancies in the U.S.
House: Election Code Chapter 204; Vacancy in Congress; Subchapter B.
Vacancy In House of Representatives
Sec. 204.021.
Vacancy Filled at special election. An
unexpired term in the office of United States representative may be
filled only by a special election in the same manner as provided by
Chapter 203 for the legislature, except that Section 203.013 does not
apply. Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1,
1986.
The answer is:
Special Election. That means all candidates are eligible, not just
from one party. I have heard people say there should be no Special
Election because it is not in the Republicans’ favor to have one. That
is saying we will follow the Constitution only when it yields more
favorable odds.
I am old fashioned
and believe we follow the Constitution as written, not just when it is
in our favor.
Remember, it was Mr.
DeLay who chose this course instead of bowing out early so
voters could choose an alternate in the primary. The fact that a
Special Election is now viewed as less favorable means that some
Republicans are arguing that they don’t have to follow the
Constitution. Think about it..
Tom DeLay
Did Tom's staff take this chance to give him a literary Wet Willie
before he fires them all? Or, does he speak with forked
tongue - one thing in Fort Bend and another in Clear Lake?
April 20 - Harris County
Judge Robert Eckels has pulled out of the race for the GOP
nomination for the 22nd Congressional District. (Be sure to read the
first comment; it's a dandy!)
Having an open election
would have been to Eckels' benefit because he leans in the moderate
direction, but he knew that he wouldn't have a junebug's chance in a
snowstorm with the four selectors that the lunatic fringe of the
Republican executive committees will pick.
You know how I've always
predicted that the local GOP will get so riled up over who they will
pick to be their nominee that they'll start hitting each other with
their Bibles? I may have been wrong about that.
Instead, they've decided
to out-sneaky each other.
Of all the nights the party chairman could have picked to have a party
meeting about this subject,
he picked the night of the New Territory candidate forum and the
annual Belles of Heaven Republican Women's Club somber celebration of
all things Republican. Okay, so I know they call themselves The
Spirit of Freedom, but everybody else calls them the Belles.
Slogan of the Day -
Republicans: they don't just hate Democrats anymore.
Personally, I'm pulling
for David Wallace. There's more dirt on him than my tomato roots.
April 19 - Marsha Rovai
returned to the Sugar Land Police Department today with a highly
respected lawyer and it was all the difference between day and night.
Two officers interviewed
her, asked her for copies of the tapes, and promised to review the case.
Thank you to everybody who emailed the police chief.
is currently serving as
foreman of the Fort Bend County Grand Jury. Dexter is now claiming that
he came to the press conference and he "peacefully protested Mr.
Lampson and talked to him about his voting record." However, video
clearly shows Dexter shoving people, putting signs over people's heads
to cover their faces, and screaming into Lampson's ear.
At no point did he try to
speak peacefully to Mr. Lampson.
More importantly, the
Sugar Land Police Department refused to let Marsha file charges or even
give a statement. That's not surprising since the Mayor of Sugar
Land, David Wallace, is a close friend of Tom DeLay's and is openly
running for the Republican nomination for the seat.
By the way, the Democrats
had permission to be there and the Republicans did not.
If you could please let
the City of Sugar Land know that you do not believe it is acceptable for
men to do to Marsha what they did, it might send a message that every
citizen has the right to expect safety in Sugar Land Town Square.
Please be polite, make no threats, or use bad language. We don't
want them to think that you're a Republican, now do we?
I have a theory that the more crap you
put up with, the more crap you're gonna to get. Let's face them
down right here right now.
One more thing, Dexter says, "Exercising free speech and opposing
Democrats on their voting record is not against the law.” You'd
think the foreman of the Grand Jury would check the law before he spouts
off. Remember: Dexter was instructed by DeLay's campaign
manager to "wreck" Lampson's press conference.
42.05. DISRUPTING MEETING OR PROCESSION. (a) A person
commits an offense if, with intent to prevent or disrupt a lawful
meeting, procession, or gathering, he obstructs or interferes with the
meeting, procession, or gathering by physical action or verbal
utterance.
(b) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor
April 17- Just say NO. Real loud!
Our county commissioners
are asking us to approve $130 million in bonds next month. And this is
only the start. They will ask for an additional $80 in November for a
so-called Justice Center, and up to $300 in mobility bonds soon
thereafter. That’s a grand total of
almost half a billion dollars, so they want to give it to us in three
small doses over a year, hoping we won’t tie them up and throw them in
The River while yelling, “Quit dreaming in zeros, Bub!” They’re also
hoping we’ll forget how much of our money they’re spending - on
themselves. Here’s the best part:
your county commissioners say they won’t raise taxes to pay for all
this. Hey, wiz on my leg and tell me it’s raining, but don’t lie to me
about taxes when I can add, you fool. Today, let’s discuss the
$130 million that comes up for a vote next month. They are going to buy
a new jail (while the one we have isn’t full), a library for the
University of Houston and Houston Community College (well, isn’t that
nice of us?), and new swanky digs for some elected officials (which they
most certainly do not need). County government has been
growing 10% a year for the past five years or so. To pay for this bond
issue, the commissioners say they will cut back on those increases in
spending. Well, heckfire tarnation dammit gosh, if they can cut the 10%
increase in the future, why couldn’t they have done it in the past?
Huh? I wanna know. However, more obvious
than dark roots on bleached blonde hair is this: All of these bonds
involve new buildings we didn’t have before. You will have to heat and
cool these buildings, hire security for them, furnish them, hire people
to work in them, fill them with electricity, install computer systems
and maintain them, and we haven’t even gotten to toilet paper and
telephones yet. You can’t do all that for free. Just say NO on May 13th.
I
cannot believe that Republicans like to call themselves
“conservatives.” Sheesh. Later, I'll explain
Juanita's Patented Tombstone Theory. Meanwhile, we have new slogan here.
"Republicans: they're not just for higher gas prices anymore!"
April 16 - Go check out
Email from Hell
and see Fort Bend GOP politico Jim explain why the primary run-off
turned the local Republican Party into a bad country-western song.
April 15 - Our good friend
Alfredo notes that ARMPAC is so broke that they didn't have enough money
to pay DeLay's daughter's (Dani DeLay Ferro) salary.
April 14 - Couldn't help
myself. My favorite funny writer,
John Kelso, has a little fun with Frenchy Tom waving the white flag
and quitting --
Put simply, Tom DeLay is yellow. He's afraid
to duke it out with the Dems. Hey, I haven't seen this much
yellow since the pet canary sat on my nose.
Tom, where is your spine? Did you put your
spine on eBay to raise money for the Republican Party? Are you
going to kowtow to a bunch of liberals because you think they
could spank you in an election?
April 13 - Blessed Easter
and Passover to all. Unless something really big breaks, I'm outta
here until Monday; but I'll have my laptop and no telling what I might
say while high on chocolate bunnies. While I'm outta here, I
want you all to be thinking about why Republicans in Fort Bend County
simply will not elect a woman to any power position, or a minority male
or female to anything at all. And then,
just to ruin your appetite ...
DeLay on short list
for OMB job
WASHINGTON, April 12 (UPI) -- The White
House is looking at a list of cost-cutting candidates to
head the Office of Management and Budget, and Rep. Tom
DeLay, R-Texas, may be on it.
The former House majority leader, who
announced he will resign from Congress and is under a
state indictment on political money laundering charges, is
listed as a possible replacement for Josh Bolten, the U.S.
News and World Report said.
Yo! Bozos! He'll steal all the money for golf,
cigars, and fancy resort hotels. Can't you just hear
it now? A month from now, all the money in the United
States is ... errrr.... "missing" and Bush says, "Heckuva
job, Tommy!"
April 12 -
Ain't no place for a woman in the Fort Bend GOP. Every woman
on the local ballot - all 4 of them - got beat tonight. As my
Republican friend Buck
Pochek says, "There just ain't no seat at the table for wimmen in
this man's Republican party. They just get to set the table and
clean it." The only upside I see is
that I get to
have all my fun with
County Attorney Bud Childers (and
here.) until November. On a serious note, Nina
Schaefer would have been a good judge. This county is poorer for
her loss.
April
12 - Oh dear, another of DeLay’s staff takes a stumble in the
good-boy department, and you’ll read it here first. As I said on
Thursday, we thought we recognized air horny guy, but I just wanted to
make sure. Thanks to CNN,
I now have a tape to
Leonard “Air Horn” Cash, trying to leave the impression that he’s
just a regular voter in District 22. That don't even pass the
truthiness test. It ain't even almost truth. Mr. Cash, following
in the footsteps of other DeLay aides, has fine-tuned the art of
deception and trickery. Not only does he not live in District 22 --- he
lives in Houston near the corner of Dunlavy and West Gray, way the
dickens away from here - in John Culberson’s district. Not only is he
not just a regular guy –
he’s a paid DeLay henchman.
Since there will no doubt
be some civil suits arising out of this, I hope Congressman DeLay has
paid Mr. Cash well enough to afford the team of lawyers that all DeLay
aides seem to be needing lately. But, nice hat, kiddo.
Not particularly flattering, but nice.
April 11 - Bob Dunn will have
up-to-date run-off election results tonight his
www.fortbendnow.com Head on
over there and check it out.
April 11 - My friend Maureen, who
claims to have a job but apparently not enough of one, has opened
a Cafe Press shop for
Juanita's. She'll be adding things, or you can make requests.
April 11 - Okay, here's
a story from the weekly eastside of the county newspaper that might
interest you. The first part is about the Republican wrecking
skills, but what interests everyone the most is where the resigning, but
not too anxious to shuddup and leave, Republican County Chairman's
explanation explains why we shouldn't have a Congressman in this
district for six months, a measure of time that Eric calls "a few."
The problems caused by a special
election, according to Thode, are as follows: "It is open to anyone
and everyone regardless of Party affiliation. More than likely many
Republicans run, a few independents, a Libertarian, a Green Party
candidate and others, and probably just one Democrat, Nick Lampson.
The number of candidates in an extremely low turnout election
guarantees a Runoff, which may or may not include the best candidates
and most assuredly would not be between two good Republicans. As the
lone Democrat, Lampson will be in the Runoff.
What if Lampson wins? He is then the incumbent going into November and
if we as a Party have waited for the Special Election to end to choose
the Republican who will appear on the ballot, we have wasted at least
60 days of campaigning time.
This is why I call a Special Election in this instance a circus act or
freak show. It is not the best way for us to determine who should be
our choice for November and it wastes a lot of time. The winner gets
nothing but the right to be called Congressman for a few months during
a period of time that nothing will be going on in Washington."
Where - even once - does Thode mention what is best for the county or
democracy or citizens or anything except what is best for the Republican
ByGawd Party! Circus act? Freak
show? I don't think so. I think it's called democracy and
representative government. You know, you gotta have enough gall to
fill the Grand Canyon to move to another Congressional district and then
announce to your abandoned home that they don't need a Congressman.
That's what Thode and Tom DeLay are doing. This ain't brain surgery
- the Republicans selected DeLay and they gotta stick with him.
Audience members who expected to see Bill Nye “The Science Guy”
conduct experiments and wow their children received quite a surprise
Wednesday when Nye spoke at McLennan Community College.
However ....
The Emmy-winning scientist angered a
few audience members when he criticized literal interpretation of the
biblical verse Genesis 1:16, which reads: “God made two great
lights — the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to
govern the night. He also made the stars.”
He pointed out that the sun, the
“greater light,” is but one of countless stars and that the “lesser
light” is the moon, which really is not a light at all, rather a
reflector of light.
A number of audience members left
the room at that point, visibly angered by what some perceived as
irreverence.
“We believe in a
God!” exclaimed one woman as she left the room with three young
children.
How dare the science guy talk like
that! Even in Waco, everyone knows the moon is made of green
cheese. Texas: where we
hate the rest of the country for their freedom.
April 10 - Okay, I don’t know why I
expected anything different, but that that Shannon Flaherty chick
working for Tom DeLay sure is the Princess of Priss. Look, I know it’s
gotta be a tough job being the spokeswoman for a dude who thinks he’s
gonna be raptured before a jury puts his butt in prison, but Honey,
Honey, Honey...
look what
she’s saying today …..
Pat Baig, who challenged Tom
DeLay in the Republican primary election in March, said Monday she
believes DeLay planned the timing of his resignation from Congress
months ago and “has chosen David Wallace as his anointed one.”
“There’s a reason Pat
received less than 4% of the vote – she’s not credible and everyone
knows it,” said DeLay spokeswoman Shannon Flaherty. “Pat’s conspiracy
theory is as ridiculous as her primary candidacy was.”
Whoa Babe, that’s one snotty little witch, ain't it? She didn't even
say the obligatory "Bless her heart," before she knifed a member of her
own gender and her own political party. The way I figure it, Flaherty
is about a quart low on estrogen. I mean, she works around bunch of
dipsticks so it shouldn’t be hard to check it. Aren’t you glad you
weren’t her Delta Delta Delta little sister? Cheeezzzz. By the way, Pat just said
what 95% of the rest of this district is saying.
A few lobbyists who helped raise money for Rep. Tom
DeLay (R-Texas) — all of them outside the inner circle of the former
Majority Leader — say they’d like the outgoing Congressman to offer
them their money back. ..... "If I wanted to give to a legal fund, I would've done it directly,"
snarled one GOP lobbyist who refused to have his name attached to such
callous-sounding sentiments, even if DeLay is leaving Congress.
It seems that they are upset that Tom
scammed them out of their money by full-well knowing that he was going
to resign, but continued to raise money for his campaign fund.
That money can now be transferred into his legal defense fund. I
guess they didn't buy the whole, "Jesus wants me to do this" line from
DeLay. You know, I'd almost like
to feel kinda sorry for people who get scammed by DeLay, but, Honey, if
they haven't learned about Tom and greed yet, they need to get out of
the gene pool.
April 10 - Okay, I’m going
to jump out on a limb here and make a prediction about the upcoming
local Republican run-off races. In each race (County Court at law,
County Attorney, and GOP Party Chairman) there’s one male and one
female. Madam Swami Juanita predicts the winner in each race in the
GOP primary run-off will have one thing in common with every darned
other GOP elected official in the county --- they will all be fluffy
white boys! I ain’t kidding. When you go to a swearing-in ceremony in
Fort Bend County, it looks like Germany won the damn war. Republicans will elect women if there’s “clerk” or “collector”
in the title, but commissioner or judge, where the real power is, is
still the boy’s club. I hope I’m wrong, but history says it’s a safe bet.
The real
reason the Bully-in-Chief quit the race against Lampson, of course,
was because he was going to lose, and things were not going to start
moving in his direction, what with all the Abramoff and TRMPAC sewage
creeping up around his neckline.
But as we
know, you can never trust DeLay. Although he says he is, he’s not
really going away. DeLay’s the schoolyard bully who, when successfully
challenged, runs to a safe distance and then sticks his tongue out at
you.
Ken argues, too, that Tom's "disqualification" from the ballot is a
sham. Local Republicans never
want a fair fight. They came looking for a fight at Sugar Land
Town Center, threw the first punch, and then whined like a two year old
when they got hit back. Locals are familiar with
Brian Gaston, founder of the Taxpayers Association, former Sugar Land
city councilman and Christian Coalition head-cherub.
On other websites, (and
mostly here) he's boasting that the Republican bullyism at Town
Square was justified because Nick Lampson dared step foot in Sugar Land.
Now, I've looked at all the pictures of the event and Brian Gaston is
nowhere to be found. Wanna know why? Because he's a big old
fat sissy-boy. (Darn, that felt good to finally say that out
loud.) And then Republican
County Commissioner Andy Meyers whines that a Democrat defended Marsha,
a 70 year old woman. (Every time Andy opens his mouth it sounds like a
two year old banging his spoon on the high chair before the food gets
there.) And that Lampson should have known that he's was going to get
"wrecked" when he came to Sugar Land.
Bob Dunn's conservative source is right. .....
Lampson thought he could campaign smack
in the middle of DeLay turf. And it was up to the Sugar Land
Conservative Cripps to welcome Mr. Rogers to the Hood.
April 8 - For those who
expressed concern for Marsha, she's feeling better today and posed with
Democratic candidate for Governor, Chris Bell.
Whacking elderly ladies is frown upon in Rosenberg (even though I hear
some Sugar Land Republicans are boasting about it in Sugar Land), so
this Democratic event (to an overflow crowd) was protected. Check the
cars across the street.
Please allow me to issue a statement
about Marsha in case any GOP thugs want to try to intimidate her or
harass her. Marsha doesn't live alone. Additionally, she's
handy with a shotgun and has a dog that so big she she rewards him
Republican protestors as training treats. Do not mess with her
when "Precious" or Don Bankston are around. They both bite.
April 7 - The Lampson campaign
just sent out an email with this comment:
We are extremely grateful for the many Republicans who emailed and
called our campaign to apologize (even though it wasn't their
obligation to do so) and say they really did not like what they saw
from the DeLay staff yesterday. Sometimes, it's easy for those of us on the Lampson staff to get
caught up in the back and forth with the dirty politics with the DeLay
campaign. But this is the kind of positive outpouring that reminds
those of us on staff that Nick is right, and we can reach out to folks
on both sides of the aisle with civility and common sense. That's
what separates our campaign from the bullying tactics and backroom
dealing of Tom DeLay and his cronies.
I'm delighted to hear that some local Republicans far classier
than the nasties who showed up yesterday. Good on 'um!
April 7 - A customer (Disgusted
Constituent) sent me the following: I say Amen.
In his speech from the House floor
in June of 1999 --
"It couldn't have been because
we place our children in day care centers where they learn their
socialization skills among their peers under the law of the jungle,
while employees who have no vested interest in the children look on
and make sure that no blood is spilled."
-- DeLay could have been
describing the behavior of his Repummelcan supporters on the steps of
Sugar Land's City Hall Thursday morning.
April 7 -
There’s
a couple of things on the news front this morning. Thelma told me that
Tom DeLay’s campaign manager said that Nick Lampson and his supporters
could expect to see more of yesterday’s behavior for 7 more months.
That's a long time. Okay, even outside of the
fact of why Tom DeLay would need a campaign manager if he’s really
resigning, there is another problem. I checked around this morning and
it appears that Fort Bend
Democrats don’t have many more 70 year old women who can take a
punch like Marsha can. They’re trying to train some, but it ain’t
working out as well as you’d suspect. Old women can be darned cranky.
I certainly know that’s what I want to be when I grow up. Then they tried to get
some of the men to go dressed in drag so Mr. DeLay’s goons would have a
target for all their anger, but that ain’t going well either. Nathan
Lane has just ruined it for men in drag. And that whole Brokeback
Mountain thing … well, anyway, the menfolk are a little skittish about
the drag idea. So, that only leaves one
solution – they’re going to have to outsource the little old lady
thing. They’ve asked me to appeal to your patriotic goodwill and
volunteer your Grandmother. They’ll pay her expenses here and I’ll
throw in a perm and a manicure.
On another note, I don’t
know if people in foreign states realize the last mean thing Tom DeLay
and Governor Rick Perry are doing to us here in the 22nd.
Here’s the plan: they are going to hold 2 elections in November. One
for who will be our Congressvarmint for 2 years and another one for who
will be our Congressvarmint for 2 months. Meanwhile, between June and
November, we just won’t have a Congressvarmint. That's good-sense Texas
Republican style. The Governor, who ain’t
real bright even by Austin standards, has issued a
White Paper Report. It’s his first, we think. Bless his heart, he
thinks that if it’s printed on white paper, it has to be the truth.
Stuff printed on blue paper is always suspect, you know; and we ain’t
even talking about green paper or any of your broad spectrum of
pastels. So, according to the
Gov’s White Paper Report ----
“If, however, the chairman of the Texas GOP issues an administrative
finding that DeLay is ineligible to serve, then the chairman calls a
meeting of the district executive committee to select a candidate to be
placed on the ballot,” the white paper states. “The executive committee
would consist of one precinct chair from each of the four counties (Fort
Bend, Harris, Brazoria and Galveston) in the 22nd Congressional District
selected by the precinct chairs from the individual precincts within
each of the four counties.”
So, four people from four
counties will select the GOP nominee for Congress. These Republicans
have never been real big on this whole democracy and voter participation
thing, but this takes the cake, Honey. Let me give you some
numbers. In the last election DeLay got 18,000 votes in Brazoria
County, 12,000 votes in Galveston County, 58,000 in Fort Bend County,
and 64,000 in Harris County. That gives you an idea of how many
Republicans there are in each county. However, under the Gov’s
plan, little ole Galveston County with 12,000 Republicans would get the
same voice as big ole mean Harris County with 64,000 Republicans.
Honey, wars have been fought over stuff less unfair than that. And,
given the temperament of the local Republicans shown yesterday, I think
we need FEMA to send us some body armor down and big ole boots down here
because it’s gonna look like 5,000 acres of snakes once these
Republicans start going after each other.
April 7 - Pull in on them
reins and slow down a bit. I'll have more commentary and news early this
afternoon. We rarely open the shop until 11:00 anyway. I
have carefully arranged my life to sleep late - don't expect me to
change that for you. Actually, I don't like you all that much.
grumble ... grumble ... expecting me to get up and entertain you early
in the morning .... grumble ... grumble .... what kind of people are you
.... grumble ... grumble ....
I will soon post photographs
of a "demonstration" (read: violent disruption) of Nick Lampson's news
conference this morning in Sugar Land. Tom DeLay's campaign and a
member of the State Republican Executive Committee called for volunteers
to meet on the first floor of the parking garage and "wreck" Lampson's
press conference. One elderly Democratic
woman was slightly injured when she was assaulted by a DeLay protester.
The male DeLay supporter first hit her in the face with a sign and then
grabbed her hat and tried to pull it down over her eyes. Think
about this: Your Congressman asked his supporters to go out and
assault old women. Okay, "wreck" them. But, that's all right
because one of the Democrats shoved the DeLay protestor away from the
elderly woman. We ain't doing non-violent protests when it comes
to protecting our elderly. But that's all right.
It's all right. They're just helping prove what a stone-cold
hypocrite DeLay and his supporters are. One day DeLay laments the
"polarization" in the district and how horrible it is. The next
day, he calls a hit.
A direct quote from an email Chris Homan sent out --
We would meet tomorrow
morning at 9:45 am on the first floor of the parking garage attached
to the Marriott. Please get folks to call our campaign office
281.343.1333 and let us know they can do it – or e-mail Leonard Cash
(in the cc field above) so that we can get some head count. Let’s
give Lampson a parting shot that wrecks his press conference.
(Emphasis mine)
This is a statement from Marsha Rovai, the 70 year old retired CPS
caseworker I spoke about above,
“I can’t believe my Congressman, Tom
DeLay, would organize this type of assault,” Rovai said. “I was
assaulted by two different people. One of the men hit me and
another shoved his sign into my face, and then when I pushed his
sign away he violently pulled my hat down over my eyes and pushed
me. I’m considering filing an assault charge. This is just very
upsetting and I’m so disappointed in Tom Delay for organizing this
attack.”
April 5 - Okay, I know you’ve
been seeing some crazy scary stuff coming out of District 22 lately, but
Tom’s so-called “resignation” only fueled the fires of insanity.
The Fort Bend County
Republican party chairman (who doesn’t even live in the county anymore),
a major candidate in the run-off for a new party chair (Gary Gillen) ,
and one of the hopeful candidates to replace Delay (Harris County Judge
Bob Eckels) announced ..... (kinda try to prepare yourself for this)
....... that they didn’t see any need to have a special election because
not having a Congressman between June and January “wouldn’t hurt the
district.” There reasoning is that Congress wouldn’t be in session much
of the time anyway.
No, I’m not kidding.
Look at this. All they can talk about is what is best for the
Republican party. They don’t give a big bear’s butt about the district
or its citizens.
Okay, Dumb Guys, what if
there’s a hurricane this summer? Don’t we need a Congressvarmint to
help with FEMA and do some hollering? What if we go to war or Baghdad
falls to the insurgents? We don’t have anyone representing us? What if
a national emergency happens?
Most importantly, what
about constituent services? Who is going to help the poor widow lady
who has problems with her pension? Will we get no appointments to West
Point or the Naval Academy? Who do we call with our opinion about
bills? Who will help our veterans with problems with the VA? Who will
attend the funerals of our war dead?
Dammit. Dammit. Dammit.
If these idiots get their way, I’m holding a tea party at the Brazos
River. I’m not kidding. I’ve got some Lipton Tea Bags and I’ll meet
you there. They want taxation without representation. Over. My. Dead.
Body. It ain’t happenin’. I have earned the right to have my voice
heard in Congress and I’ll be a monkey’s uncle before I let some cheap
local political hacks take that away from me.
Be sure to note the part
of the article where the perhaps-future county chair says that a special
election would be a “circus” because anybody can run. Yeah, like
Democrats and Libertarians and Independents and folks you have no
control over. You know, like real democratic elections. Oh,
hide the children!
On the other hand,
my Libertarian friend says it’s
not a bad idea to be without a Congressman. We could use these six
months to try it out and if it works, we could do it everywhere else and
just get rid of Congress. He thinks they’re as worthless as a four card
flush anyway.
April 5 - There’s one thing I
know sure as a Grandmother’s love: the Republicans are violating the
law by putting a candidate up to fill DeLay’s spot in the November
election. They can spin this until all their psychedelic colors blend
into a purple haze, but Texas law does not allow you to replace a
candidate because he sees that he’s going to lose.
They are violating the
law and making a mockery of the electoral process. What scares me is
that they’ve had so much practice that they are getting darned good at
it.
Let me give you an idea
of how truly wicked and arrogant their youngsters have become. Another
local blogger pointed me to a perfectly serious statement a couple of
local young Republican bloggers think is a dandy idea. I'm quoting
directly from their blogs.
If there is any ambiguity over whether the GOP can replace DeLay on
the ballot in November, won't the state legislature simply
rewrite/clarify the election code in the upcoming special session in a
few weeks?
It's pretty likely that
this will be litigated, and equally likely that the GOP will be
allowed to replace DeLay on the ballot. So perhaps the legislature
will attempt to change the code.
So, if they law isn't in your favor, change the law? This is the
arrogance and win-at-all-costs morality that they teach their children.
Even aside from that, isn't having the State Lege act like a bunch of
Republican bullies what got us into this mess in the first place?
Meanwhile, the Republican
Party Chairman in Fort Bend County does not want a special election
because he’s afraid that Democrat Nick Lampson will win it. Instead of
letting the voters decide who will be the GOP nominee, he wants to
decide it behind closed doors with some other fluffy white boy friends
of his.
The intellectual
dishonesty of local Republicans is what made me a straight ticket
Democrat this year.
April 4 - The email bag is
overflowing. I posted a few so enjoy
and I'll post some more tomorrow.
Some neighbors of mine, who live
around the corner, kept their DeLay sign up long after the primary
election. The man of the household (and I use both of those terms
loosely) said he did it because he knew I had to drive by it every day
and he wanted to hack me off. Sounds a little passive-aggressive
to me, so I didn't let the sign bother me, figuring it was a mental
health issue and I don't screw around with crazy people.
This morning as I drove
by, I couldn't help but notice ..... well, a picture is worth a thousand
words and I only know about 457 of them so I'll let you take it from
there.
April 4 - Okay, I've hauled my
giddy butt outta bed this morning. Best line I heard all night
came in the form of an email from an admired friend who was watching the
news reports on teevee,
I just wish the press would stop
referring to DeLay as a Texan. It's makin'
the rattlesnakes feel poorly.
Lucky
Pierre
(Cletus' former roommate)
My prediction is that Tom will continue in his present life-calling and
become a teevee evangelist. It's just like being a Congressman:
the hours are good, you can have girlfriends on the side as long as you
don't get caught, you can get stoopid people to give you lotsa money, it
helps if your wife cries a lot and can make "Jesus" a three-syllable
word, and you get to wear fancy clothes. He'll hardly know the
difference.
In all seriousness, I
ain't playing the "what will happen next" game today because nobody
really knows. I hear there's some question if DeLay can even be
replaced on the ballot because there's a residency quirk in Texas law
where you don't have to live in a district to run for it.
Meanwhile, however, local
Republicans are eating each other alive. David Wallace, the pretty
Mayor of pretty Sugar Land, has been trying to wear Tom's shoes while
Tom was still in them, and seems to think that he and Bob Perry
should be Congressvarmints. Republican political consultants are
running all over town trying to get any sucker to run so they can make
money off of them. The leaches are thick here, Honey.
It’s my theory that DeLay
knew was going to resign before the primary election, which would
explain his bizarre behavior of returning to DeeCee on election night
for a lobbyist fundraiser. However, instead of letting the voters
decide who should replace him, he acted as he always acts --- he wants
things to be decided in a closed backroom by the good ole boys, not by
the voters.
It was simply the last
underhanded, mean, and anti-democracy thing he could do to us before he
left. Thanks again, Tom.
In answer to a couple of emails this morning, no, I am not
shutting down the beauty shop right now. At least not until we insure
that another DeLay clone isn’t on the way. (Besides, it’ll be so much
fun covering the GOPper infighting over who gets to be the next DeLay.)
However, I have accepted a highly lucrative writing position for the
upcoming blog kissmybigblueass.org It’s southern women writing about
southern politics. It’ll hurt ya, Honey. Once that gets started, I’ll
close the shop and leave a forwarding address.
----more
to come ----
April 3 - 9:10
p.m. - Chris Matthews just
announced on MSNBC that he has spoken to Tom DeLay and DeLay is
withdrawing from the race tomorrow.
April 3 - You know that things
aren't lookin' good when your Congressman starts being referred to as
"Representative #2" by federal prosecutors. Especially when Bob
Ney is #1.
In a lead story in
Roll
Call (sorry, subscription only) today, it appears that federal
prosecutors were very careful to insure that Tom DeLay can't hide behind
the same "legal technicality" (their phrase, not mine) that his good
buddy Ralph Reed did.
By using conspiracy statutes
against Abramoff and the two ex-DeLay aides, prosecutors have been
able to use an umbrella approach to any crime committed by the trio
without fear of being curbed by a statute of limitations.
and later in the same
article ...
Another potentially
critical element to the Abramoff and Rudy pleas, as related to DeLay,
is that their criminal conspiracies begin in 1997 — just as DeLay and
Abramoff’s professional relationship went global.
It appears that no one
else caught this little nuance by the Feds.
Now DeLay is trying to
claim he really wasn't all that close to Tony Rudy either. DeLay
is starting to resemble the Madam of a Whorehouse claiming that she had
no idea what was going on upstairs, and she's just shocked, shocked I
tell you, to discover that the girls were involved in hanky panky.
As far as she knows, the girls just go upstairs and bring back money.
Hummmm .... just like things in Tom's congressional office.
And if you want to laugh
a hearty laugh, please check
The House that Jack Built in the New York Times.
This is DeLay,
Who built the machine
That redrew the districts
And raised the green,
That decided the races
That claimed the new seats,
That made the new friends
That owned luxury suites,
That held big galas
That brought the donations ........
WASHINGTON - A former
top aide to Rep. Tom DeLay
has agreed to plead guilty to charges in the widening federal
investigation of lobbyist fraud, a law enforcement official said
Friday
Golly, now I understand why the Texas Department of Public Safety
doesn't want Tom DeLay to have a handgun.
Also, today's Wall Street
Journal (subscription only) has a front page story about "The DeLay
Family" (Tom's words for all his former staff). It focuses on
Emily Miller, Michael Scanlon, and Tony Rudy. It's hard to decide
which one of these people is the scummiest. Honey, the folks down
at Dirt Janochek's trailer park have far more class than these people
do.
Check out this paragraph
from the story about Scanlon and Rudy:
The two shared a pit-bull
political style and pushed Mr. DeLay to lead the charge in 1998 for
the impeachment of President Clinton. "This whole thing about not
kicking someone when they are down is B.S.," Mr. Scanlon once wrote to
Mr. Rudy in an email published in "The Breach," a book by Peter Baker
about the impeachment. "Not only do you kick him -- you kick him until
he passes out -- then beat him over the head with a baseball bat --
then roll him up in an old rug -- and throw him off a cliff into the
pound surf below!!!!!"
And Tom DeLay doesn't even choke when he talks about "the politics of
personal destruction."
March 31 - In my
never-ending quest to make public records available
to the ..... oh, dunno, the public? .... Here are GOP party chair
candidate Gary Gillen's non-computerized filings with the Texas Ethics
Commission.
By the way, if Mr. Gillen
can't afford a computer, he can go to the public library and use one for
free to file his reports. If he can't understand how to use a
computer, he can get a third grader to help him.
Gillen filing 12/05
I'll try like the dickens to get Gillen's 8 days before election day
filings, but I ain't making no promises. This took a lot of my
time and is just darned silly on his part. It's probably just a
little trick he learned from his predecessor.
March 30 - Tom DeLay is to
religion what professional wrestlers are to sports.
It ain't real, Darlin'.
March 29 - So, I broke the story
of Make My Day DeLay and his handgun permit right here
5 days ago.
The next day, internet
bloggers picked it up.
On day 2, some internet
news sites picked it up and ran with it. Keith Obermann and Jon
Stewert picked it up.
Harvey Kronberg picked it up from
www.fortbendnow.com
On day 3, the national
media, including the Houston Chronicle, ran the story.
On day 4, the Fort Texas
Herald Coaster Bend Cougar Mellancamp ran the story from the Associated
Press without even driving 2 miles to the courthouse to get actual
papers.
And today, Jack Cafferty pitched it.
Chutzpah. It means you got some nerve.
The disgraced former house majority leader Congressman Tom DeLay has
Chutzpah to spare.
He's under criminal indictment. He's facing felony charges that could
put him in prison. DeLay, nevertheless, thinks he should be allowed to
carry a gun. His permit to carry a concealed handgun was suspended in
January. This happens when you are indicted. But DeLay doesn't think
the rules should apply to him.
He's appealing the suspension and he wants a new hearing. A mouth
piece for DeLay wouldn't say if he needs a handgun permit. She said,
as for whether or not he carries it, that's the point of having a
concealed handgun license in Texas. Potential criminals should assume
everyone is. Does being under indictment make Tom DeLay a potential
criminal? That's not the question.
Here's the question. Should Tom DeLay be allowed to carry a concealed
handgun? Email us your thoughts at caffertyfile@cnn.com or go to
CNN.com/caffertyfile.
BASH: But like anything in politics,
there are shades of gray. Senator John Cornyn is a Texas Republican
searching for a middle ground. He says illegal immigrants should be
able to work in the U.S. legally, but only if they return to their
country of origin first.
(on camera): How worried are you about the deep divide within your own
party over this issue?
SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R), TEXAS: I really am not worried about it. I think
it's actually healthy.
BASH: You think it's healthy? In an election year it's healthy?
CORNYN: Well, you know, that's the problem in America, we're always
having elections.
Invoking the "glory of God," former
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay urged religious conservatives Tuesday
to stand against an American culture he described as hostile to
Christianity.
No, Tom, we're not hostile to Christianity. We're hostile to
cigar-smokin', gun-totin', charity-siphonin', money-greedin', insider-tradin',
blasted hypocrites whose middle name should be
Elmer Gantry.
You, Mr. DeLay, are the hostile one among us.
Tom, you've wrapped
yourself in the flag, the Bible, little children, and hot-shot criminal
defense lawyers .... what is left for you to hide behind?
Son, you done honked me
off this morning. First thing. Don't do that again.
Yesterday we
reported that the
U.S. Family Network, a sham nonprofit controlled by former DeLay
Chief of Staff
Ed Buckham and funded by Jack Abramoff's lobbying clients, sold a
Capitol Hill townhouse to Rep. Jim Ryun (R-KS) at a $19,000 loss.
Given the hot real estate market in Washington, D.C. at that time, the
low sale price raiseed the question of whether transaction was a
de facto gift to Rep. Ryun.
Some people suspect they were using the townhouse for floozie sparkin'.
I don't. Those guys don't like women enough to consort with them.
Plus, that wouldn't hurt enough other people to make it fun. I think
they were using it insider day trading.
March 27- Local Republican politics
are getting hotter than a Cadillac bumper on a Del Rio parking lot in
July. Most of the hollerin' and spittin' is over the GOP county
chair race. They aren't particularly worried about who's gonna be
county attorney or county court judge -- you know, jobs that affect us
all. No siree, they're worried about themselves. They are
forming a circle and locking and loading.
As I habitually do, I
went to the Texas Ethics Commission to check the filings of the two GOP
party chair candidates to see who's donating to them.
Linda Howell filed her forms electronically and even bothered to
correct a small mistake. She's not hiding squat from you.
Gary Gillen, like the current GOP chair, files his by paper.
That means you gotta call the Texas Ethics Commission and sweet talk
them into mailing you copies of Gillen's reports. Or drive to
Austin and pick them up. Your choice. Okay, I mean my
choice. You know I'm gonna do it. I always do.
Certainly Gillen is
within the law to file his reports on paper.
The
law states:
Most individuals or entities filing a
campaign finance report with the Texas Ethics Commission are required
to file reports electronically unless the individual or entity is
eligible to claim a statutory exemption. The legislature changed the
allowable exemptions for reports due on or after September 1, 2003.
Under the new law, a filer may claim an exemption from electronic
filing only if the filer does not use a computer to keep current
records of contributions, expenditures, or donors AND if the filer
does not exceed $20,000 in political contributions or expenditures in
a calendar year. A filer must include an exemption affidavit with
each report filed on paper. (Emphasis mine.)
I further swear or affirm that I do
not use computer equipment to keep current records of political
contributions, political expenditures, or persons making political
contributions to me.
I further swear or affirm that no
person acting as my agent or consultant, and no person with whom I
contract, uses computer equipment to keep current records of political
contributions, political expenditures, or persons making political
contributions to me.
Hey, you gotta admire a political candidate in
this day and age who uses index cards and a #2 pencil to keep track of
things.
March 27 - It's our
Semi-Monthly "Do As I Say Religious Right Day" here at the beauty shop.
Feel free to join in the fun.
First off, there's Ralph
Reed, who lays down with dogs and then seems amazed that he gets up with
fleas. On something the Republicans like to call
"a legal
technicality" Reed escaped time in a Texas pokey.
Texas Travis County
Attorney David Escamilla has just released a statement saying that he
will not pursue a formal criminal investigation into Ralph
Reed's lobbying activities in Texas. Not because Reed didn't break any
laws - actually he says quite the opposite - but because there is a
two-year statute of limitations for prosecuting misdemeanors in Texas.
So Reed gets off the hook.
BOSTON, March 27 (UPI) -- U.S.
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia startled reporters in Boston just
minutes after attending a mass, by flipping a middle finger to his
critics.
A Boston Herald reporter asked the
70-year-old conservative Roman Catholic if he faces much questioning
over impartiality when it comes to issues separating church and state.
"You know what I say to those
people?" Scalia replied, making the obscene gesture and explaining
"That's Sicilian."
No, Your Honor, that's not Sicilian, that's just rude, crude, and
socially unacceptable. Good Heavens, what would John Marshall say?
A top adviser to former House Whip Tom DeLay
received more than a third of all the money collected by the U.S.
Family Network, a nonprofit organization the adviser created to
promote a pro-family political agenda in Congress, according to the
group's accounting records.
DeLay's former chief of staff, Edwin A. Buckham,
who helped create the group while still in DeLay's employ, and his
wife, Wendy, were the principal beneficiaries of the group's $3.02
million in revenue, collecting payments totaling $1,022,729 during a
five-year period ending in 2001, public and private records show.
My almost favorite line in the story is
this one ----
It was at this dinner (in the Marianas) DeLay
gave the speech in which he called Abramoff "one of my closest and
dearest friends," according to a copy. DeLay also reminded Tan and
his colleagues of his earlier promise that no wage and immigration
legislation would be passed.
"Stand firm," DeLay said in his closing. "Resist
evil. Remember that all truth and blessings emanate from our
Creator." He then departed with Tan to see a cockfight,
according to a written account by one of the trip participants.
Cockfight? Cockfight? Well, I hope they gave Tom's cock
a proper Christian burial. The half dozen or so of
my friends who have followed my writing remember an
article I wrote
for a local newspaper about US Family Network several years ago.
They wouldn't tell where they got one million dollars for a skybox,
a townhouse, and a GMC pickup truck. At the time, I wondered
...
Why
is Tom so ashamed of who gave him One Million Dollars cash money
that he has to keep it a secret? Was it Osama Bin Laden? Buddhist
nuns? Proponents of light rail? Phillip Morris?
I then sarcastically suggested that Tom got the money from a local
drug dealer who was hiding money in the walls of his house.
Turns out that it's worse than that. Tom DeLay is a secret
Commie.
He's a spy for the Soviet Union and the Commies "paid" his "charity"
One Million Dollars. Okay, so I'm just supposing about the
spy stuff, but why else would they give him One Million Dollars Plus
Some More After a Lunch in Houston?
Last year the Washington Post reported
that in 1997 Tom DeLay and Jack Abramoff went on a lavish golfing
junket to Russia that was paid for by NAFTASib, an Abramoff client
with
"tight connections to the Russian security
establishment." .........
But it
turns out the junket is the least of the story, because after the
trip NAFTASib also gave money to the U.S. Family Network, an
advocacy group closely associated with DeLay. Lots of
money. A million dollars, in fact. And just what did the Russian
security establishment want from DeLay? Did they really spend a
million bucks via NAFTASib just to influence DeLay's vote on an
IMF bailout —
as one of DeLay's associates admitted to the
Post? Who knows.
But
whatever it was for, Peter Stone has a new piece in the National Journal today informing us that
even more money was involved than we
thought. Through a front company, NAFTASib also donated
$250,000 to the U.S. Family Network before DeLay's trip to
Moscow. That payment came shortly after a lunch meeting in
Houston, and Stone reports that "the meeting has attracted the
attention of federal investigators."
