Texas
Original Author:
(James Rowen)
Add to those opposing the proposed pipeline to carry tar sand oil from Canada to Texas.
Unsustainable amounts of fresh water and energy are needed to extract and ship this heavy form of oil, but it appears as if the Obama administration is going to green light it.
And these pipelines have
a record of leaking and breaking, so running it over the nation's largest fresh water aquifer is really risky.
Rick Perry Campaign A Lesson In Conservatives' Fiscal Double-Standards
Original Author:
(James Rowen)
Conservatives like Texas Gov. Rick Perry talk a lot about frugality, but note that Perry has arranged for records of state spending on his travel be kept secret, and that expenses for his security entourage, which helps set up campaign events, are principally paid from the state highway fund, according to The Washington Post.
In the meantime, during a special session that ended July 1, the Texas Legislature, at Perry’s urging, added language to a school finance bill that will seal the governor’s travel records for 18 months — until after the 2012 presidential election...
Before Perry’s travel records were sealed, Texas newspapers were able to shed some light on his travel and the cost to taxpayers, including [a] Bahamas trip.
The records, reported in 2005 by the Austin American-Statesman, showed that Perry and staff members had traveled the previous year to the Bahamas for a meeting with top campaign donor James Leininger, a supporter of public school vouchers and charter schools, his wife, and Grover Norquist, a national anti-tax advocate.
The records showed $4,200 in taxpayer money was spent for the squad of six state troopers who went along, including costs for renting scuba gear, golf cars and cellphones, according to the newspaper...
Last words
Not the famous kind. Reader G. points us to this collection, from Texas death row inmates.
We don't need no stinkin' czars
Wyoming's lone U.S. Representative, Cynthia Lummis of Cheyenne, joined other Republican deep thinkers such as Michelle Bachmann (R-Penn.), Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), and Pete Sessions (R-Texas) as co-sponsors for H.R. 3226: The Czar Accountability and Reform Act or "CZAR."
I suppose this is an acceptable acronym. The legislators had to stoop to borrowing the first and second letters of "Czar." In reality, it should be TCAARA, but that's just an abbreviation and not an annoying acronym to wave in the faces of Democrats.
This bill proposes:
To provide that appropriated funds may not be used to pay for any salaries or expenses of any task force, council, or similar office which is established by or at the direction of the President and headed by an individual who has been inappropriately appointed to such position (on other than an interim basis), without the advice and consent of the Senate.
Sponsor is another deep thinker from the South,
Rep. Jack Kingston [R-GA1]
Boustany's FOURTH Lie
Congressman Lord Boustany
stated in his Republican response tonight:
"We need to establish tough liability reform standards, encourage speedy resolution of claims, and deter junk lawsuits that drive up the cost of care."
Well, there's a smidgen of truth in that ... for medical providers. Texas passed medical tort liability reform back in 2003, and the insurance premiums for Texas medical providers have decreased, at least for those associated with the Texas Medical Liability Trust:
"TMLT has now reduced rates for Texas physicians six consecutive years since the passage of House Bill 4 and Proposition 12 in 2003," said Bob Fields, president and CEO of TMLT. For the first five years, rates were reduced across the board for all specialties: 12% in 2004; 5% in 2005; 5% in 2006; 7.5% in 2007; 6.5% in 2008. For 2009, all specialties will receive a rate decrease but the reduction will vary by specialty and territory with an average decrease of 4.7%. According to Fields, the cumulative premium savings realized by policyholders will exceed $275 million since January 2004.
Hmmmm ...
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