http://bayareahouston.blogspot.com/2010/03...

These are comments from Bob Mitchell, President of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership to the League City Chamber as reported by the Bay Area Citizen:

"If we don't have control of Space and the Russians do, they can easily shoot down our satellites and we would have no cell phones."

"Think about defense.” Our predator drones at Ellington Field that fly to Afghanistan and protect our coast also are operated by satellites"

http://bayareahouston.blogspot.com/2010/01...

Conservative anti-gay activist Dave Wilson will be on the March 2 primary ballot for Harris County Precinct 4 commissioner as a Democrat.

Wilson was the self appointed anti-gay activist who sent out 35,000 anti-gay mailers against Houston's new Mayor Annise Parker. He is running against a republican incumbent, Jerry Eversole who recently received the biggest fine in Texas history by the Texas Ethics Commission for spending over $180,000 of his donors money on items such as $26,000 of cattle (really), antique western chaps (I am not kidding you), $7000 on antique books, $39,000 on an antique firearm for his collection, $18,000 on golf items, and $20,000 on antique art and western wear.

I am NOT making this stuff up.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metrop...

The suspect was identified by police as Stevie R. Walder Jr., 31, who also goes by “Bubba.”

Bishop said Walder, who has a lengthy criminal history in Liberty County, is believed to be a member of a white supremacist group.

Walder is described as 6 feet 2, about 250 pounds, with a shaved head.

He has many tattoos, including a skull on the left side of his neck, a Nazi SS symbol on the right side of his neck and tear drop under his right eye.

He is known to drive a green Chevy truck with Texas plate AB1-7183. He also drives a 1998 dark green Dodge pickup with an extended cab, Texas plate 92L-RW3, and has a Republican Party sticker on the back window.

http://bayareahouston.blogspot.com/2009/12...

On Friday, December 18, 2009 your Harris County Republican Party continued our tradition of donating holiday turkeys to economically disadvantaged families at our adopted school, J.R. Harris Elementary. JR Harris is a Title I school that is 95% Hispanic.

And if they don't like it, they can go work in the private sector with private insurance.

Put Congress and 2 million federal employees on the public option.

p.s. I am a federal employee and would GLADLY move.

It is bad enough that a hurricane swept through the Clear Lake area, south of Houston, causing record damage to homes, but now a homeowners association is going after those who re-roofed their homes with the wrong color of shingle. It's unreasonable action like this that makes homeowners refer to HOAs as "Nazis".

Full story at:
http://bayareahouston.blogspot.com/2009/10...

The following was written by John Cobarruvias of Houston Texas. Mr. Cobarruvias is a volunteer with Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings and has testified at hearings in Texas on insurance and tort reform, especially in support of new homebuyers. Please feel free to copy, distribute, or repost as you see fit. You may contact John at johncoby@sbcglobal.net .

America can learn a lot from Texas

Texas has some of the best mouth watering barbeque in the country. We have some of the best college football and college education and our high school football program is second to none. But we have something that all of America can learn from: bad legislation. Congress is currently debating health care reform and could learn from the mistakes of the Texas Legislature over the last few years including insurance reform, tort reform, and deregulation.

Tort reform
In 2003 the Republican controlled Texas house ushered in sweeping tort reform, limiting medical malpractice suits to $250,000. These limits were supported by the insurance industry, some of the medical community, and their front groups calling themselves “Texans” and “Citizens” against lawsuit abuse. As they are doing today with national health care reform, they promised lower health care costs, lower insurance rates, and expanded health care availability. Instead, Texas has the highest rate of uninsured in the nation and our cost of health care and insurance has skyrocketed out of control. Tort reform didn’t work in Texas. It won’t work on the national level either.

Insurance reform
Along with tort reform, the Republican controlled House passed massive homeowner insurance reform. Texas at the time had the highest rates in the country and insurance reform was the hottest issue of the 2002 campaign. In the end the Legislature limited oversight of the industry, allowed the use of optional insurance policies and gave the industry almost everything they requested. In return homeowners would receive lower rates due to increased competition. Unfortunately, like tort reform, the promises never materialized. Rates in Texas tripled. Coverage was cut and deductibles soared. Texas now has rates twice as high as the national average with less coverage and higher deductibles. Again, insurance reform didn’t work in Texas.

Electricity and College Tuition Deregulation
The Republican controlled House also passed electricity and college tuition deregulation again with promises of lower rates with more competition. With Enron and Ken Lay leading the lobbying effort, electricity was deregulation in most of the State, resulting in higher rates, sometimes as high as 3 times pre-deregulation. Tuition costs for State Universities has since doubled and our once shining example of fiscal responsibility, the Texas Tomorrow Fund providing a method for families to save for college, was cancelled due to the skyrocketing cost of college. Electricity and college tuition deregulation failed.

Learn from our mistakes. Please.
Congress has an incredible resource staring them in the face: the great State of Texas with its examples of failed legislation. It is clear, tort reform will not lower health care or insurance rates, the insurance industry cannot be trusted, and deregulation will not lower rates or create competition as promised.

Texas has mosquitoes large enough for an afternoon snack, pumpkins the size of a small car, and we also have enough bad legislative experiences to last a lifetime, or a debate on national health care reform.

For the sake of all Americans learn from our mistakes.

"Arbitration is a private justice system. It is held in secret, away from media attention, exactly what rape victims want. Rape victims prefer to be left alone. They do not want to air their "dirty laundry" especially in front of a jury in public. Instead, as with arbitration, they just want it to be private and their own little secret."


http://bayareahouston.blogspot.com/2009/10...

http://bayareahouston.blogspot.com/2009/09...


It's wrong on so many levels.

In a city as diverse as Houston, and after a historic election of a President of the United States based upon a huge, diverse coalition of Americans, you would think we could get past the racial divisiveness.

A blog post supported and tweeted by the Gene Locke campaign included the following:

Tejano Dems received a strong commitment from Gene to renew the black/brown coalition from the 1980's that was formed by Congressman Mickey Leland, Attorney Frumencio Reyes, Jr., candidate Locke and many others who saw the need for the disenfranchised and overlooked to stand together and improve the political conditions of people of color in Houston.

Pics from the teabagger rally in DC. Thanks to Kelly in Ohio for the Yes we Klan title. And to David for his pictures:
http://bayareahouston.blogspot.com/2009/09...

If you are not allowing your elementary child to watch the speech by the President of the United States encouraging staying in school, taking responsibility for yourself, and staying off of drugs, here are a few conservative family activities that reflect the spirit and values of the republican party that you will enjoy:

1. Have a prayer ring at the school flag pole. Pray that the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior stricken the President and his family with cancer.
2. Take the time to teach your young children how to correctly and effectively say the N word.
3. Attend a cross burning ceremony with the KKK.
4. Sit outside of a breast cancer treatment center and laugh at the bald ladies then enjoy an ice cream cone afterward.
5. Drop cinder blocks off a highway overpass.
6. Sit outside of a Bob Perry home construction site and call the workers "beaners".
7. Shoot paint balls at homeless people.
8. Go to the local firing range and shoot cut outs of the Obama family.
9. Take the opportunity to teach your kids the meaning of the free market by stealing some old ladies groceries.
10. Stand on the corner of a busy intersection with a sign that says "I am a frickin dumb ass".

If you are taking your kids out of school to avoid listening to a message from the President of the United States, you are truly a frickin dumb ass and a proud member of the republican party.

Enjoy the day, asswipe.

This photo was taken by Stace of Dos Centavos (www.doscentavos.net ) a well known blogger and excellent photographer in Houston Texas during our health care rally on 9/3.

Do us in Tom DeLay's old district a favor and call Congressman Pete Olson's office at 281-486-1095 and complain about the shameless use of a young kid who had a heart defect for political gain. The video below has been spread across the United States and posted on Huffington Post, Crooks and Liars, The Stephanie Miller Show (audio) and more.
Olson's office has been receiving calls about about it and they are NOT happy about it.

Olson's office is now claiming the operation was paid by Medicare! (Imagine that. A government program paid for health care while a private system turned her down!) She then changed her story after I pointed this out.

Watch here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_MvNF2GUE0...

Call here: 281-486-1095



Recap:
Republican Congressman Olson (R-TX) tells the townhall about a mother who was turned away by the free market doctors for her unborn child's heart defect. She was denied by the free market doctors but persisted and was able to find a specialized doctor and got a very delicate operation and a heart transplant 17 days after he was born. Olson then claims that the public option would have denied him the needed health care and he would have died! After being challenged he abruptly ended the discussion. Watch as he is challenged, and clueless as to what to say.

http://bayareahouston.blogspot.com/2009/08...


--
John Cobarruvias
Houston, Texas

Texas Governor Rick Perry has got to be one greedy rotten bastard to deny CHIP to the poorest of the poor while getting free medical testing from his donors for him and his wife!

http://muse-musings.blogspot.com/2009/07/g...

In all, Perry probably pocketed over $130,000 in gifts including boots, Spurs tickets, lodging and transportation for his family, hunting trips (without Dick Cheney), football tickets, and while he denies CHIP coverage for the poorest of the poor children in his state, he and his lovely wife Anita are getting free medical tests from Dr. Kenneth Cooper. Sweet!

And you guys thought we were a bunch of ignorant hillbillies....
Full story at http://bayareahouston.blogspot.com/2009/03...


Our elected officials (at least some of them) have realized that electricity deregulation has been a huge failure. Senator Elitfe, a republican in East Texas, has filed SB547 to stop deregulation until it can be proven through a pilot program it will reduce rates for his constituents. His bill passed in committee on a unanimous vote.

Senator Wendy Davis, Democrat from Dallas, has filed a bill with Representative Jim Keffer, a republican, to allow cities to use their power to negotiate for a low rate and pass this on to their citizens.

It’s the Sam’s Club theory: Allow consumers to buy electricity in big boxes — city-sized boxes — to get a better rate. Under the measure proposed by state Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth (SB 1481), and state Rep. Jim Keffer, R-Eastland (HB 2780), cities, counties and other such bodies could negotiate electricity rates on behalf of their residents.


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