Why are journalists so liberal?

Why are journalists so liberal?

(For readers in the UK and elsewhere, I'm using the word "liberal" in the American sense, meaning that they generally support turning over the economy, education, healthcare and self-protection over to charismatic social-climbers who can win elections.) 

Why are journalists so liberal? 

They aren't.  Governments are. 

I've had a glorious time for the last couple of months supporting a trio of candidates for our local River/Water Development Board.  In my mind, the opposing sides couldn't be more starkly divided.  Our opponents are planning to take over a lot of land via Eminent Domain and make sweetheart deals with developers.  If past history is any guide, there will be plenty of no-bid contracts.  There will be restaurants and apartment buildings built INSIDE the flood plain.  There's a project we call "Lake Granger" that is so far over budget that....hell, I give up.  Go here to read about the condition of the project three years ago.  No idea how much they've blown so far, but it's huge.  The project manager, JD Granger, is the son of congresswoman Kay Granger.  He's a former Assistant D.A. and his previous project management experience was a science project in the 9th grade.   

In the meantime, the river water isn't fit for recreation, much less drinking, and the government won't allow you to eat any fish caught in the river. 

The candidates that I've been supporting just want to provide plenty of drinkable water, populated with fish that won't kill you.  They want to honor property rights.  That's it. 

The local journalists at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram overwhelmingly support the land thefts and the bloated make-work projects.  Go figure. 

But think about it....  Governments get themselves elected by giving out gifts.  It's what they do.  And sometimes, that's exciting.  The group of Barking Seals currently on the water board have already opened up a Flood Control BBQ joint, and there are plans for a Flood Control Drive-In Movie Theatre.  Fun, fun, fun.  Their supporters include most of the major engineering firms that will be involved in the boondoggle. 

Which group would you prefer to write about?  The happy-happy party crowd, slipping their Bar Tabs into the diapers of the infants?  Or the puritans who just want a clean river? 

Hey, guys, I'm trying to write a story.  Can you tell me anything about your big plans? 
Nope.  We're not going to do much.  Just keep human feces out of the Trinity River. 
Oh.... Never mind. 

Plus, the big-spending incumbents are already on speed-dial. 

And that is why journalists are generally liberal. 

Why I hope you'll vote for Basham, Nold and Kelleher in the May 11th Tarrant Regional Water District Board election

The Trinity River is a big, fat, hairy deal in Fort Worth TX.

A small board of Fort Worth property owners controls a significant amount of the water supply for about 10 other counties.

They're also instrumental in trying to turn the Trinity into something that we Libertarians call "Lake Granger", after Congresswoman Kay Granger, and her son J.D. Granger, a project that, if completed, will be the #1 Google Search Result for the term "Crony Capitalism".

We're supporting a slate of candidates who think the Tarrant Regional Water District should concern itself with the drinking water supply, and ensuring that the fish aren't harmful to human health.

These candidates are John Basham, Timothy Nold, and Mary Kelleher. If you're a Fort Worth resident, you have the blessed privilege of voting out a large % of the current board. You can vote for all three open spots.

Here's what your ballot oughta look like if you oppose Eminent Domain abuse, cronyism, contractor-supported election campaigns, and plans for apartment complexes built inside the flood plain.

The BNK slate has been attacked from the usual suspects, of course, and that's prompted John Basham (wounded military veteran) to issue the following statement.....

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

TRWD Candidate John Austin Basham addresses campaign finance

Fort Worth, Texas – May 7, 2013 – Over the past few days much has been made by political elites and media insiders about campaign finance during this Tarrant Regional Water District election. TRWD challenger and part of the Basham-Nold-Kelleher (BNK) slate couldn’t agree more. “I absolutely agree campaign finance is an issue in this race,” says Basham, “I have been vigorously supported by an open government PAC and private land owners since day one.”

When asked about his opponents financial backing Mr. Basham had some serious questions. “The current board members list of donors reads like a friends and family plan,” says Basham, “When I looked at their list I couldn’t believe 95% of the donors receive our tax money in contract awards.” Mr. Basham went on to say, “It’s no wonder they want to try to paint my private donors as evil, anything to take the focus off the fact that YOU the taxpayer are funding their campaign.” A review of campaign finance reports called “8-day reports” do in fact show none of Mr. Basham’s donors receive any contracts or awards from the Tarrant Regional Water District. This cannot be said for the incumbent’s reports which show over 30 donors who are paid contractors or lobbyists for the Tarrant Regional Water District.

“It sickens me that these people get away with this every election,” says Basham, “They drag every opponent through the mud and take focus off the real issue.” Basham continued,” They are getting paybacks for the political decisions they make on the board in the form taxpayer cash laundered through contractors!”

Opponents of Mr. Basham and the BNK slate of challengers have been in quite a “tizzy” about donors from “out of town” donating to his campaign. Mr. Basham responded, “I have donors who are affected by TRWD decisions across their 11 county service area, their only say in any election is by supporting open and honest challengers,” Basham continued, “My opponents have received donations from 4 different states from as far away as Arizona and Colorado. Voters should decide which is worse; out-of-state TRWD contractors giving kick-backs or normal land owners affected by TRWD decisions.”

Contact: Layla Caraway
upacreek08@yahoo.com
Ph: 817-307-1374

You have a chance to make a difference, folks. 
The current board's project to convert Cowtown into Jerusalem On The Trinity should be abandoned. Now.
VOTE Bassham, Nold and Kelleher on May 11th!!!! 

Matthew Solodow for Congress !! Texas 12th Congressional District

My friend Matthew Solodow is running as a Libertarian for Congress in U.S. District 12.  His opponents are Democrat Dave Robinson and Republican Kay Granger. 

It looks like Kay Granger, (if you go here), loves herself some Patriot Act.  She has also supported more than 50 million dollars in earmarks for the Trinity River Vision project, a porkfest headed by her son, J.D. Granger.  Here's the Washington Post article on "Public Projects, Private Interests".....

 Over the past decade, Granger has helped obtain $51.9 million in earmarks toward a project to make over downtown Fort Worth and reroute the Trinity River. Until 2010, Granger co-owned a condominium building with her son about a half-mile south of the project. Her son is director of the group in charge of the project.

Hit the link for more info on "Lake Granger".  Fascinating stuff in there about Personalized Pork. 

Granger also supports the Federal Marriage Amendment, a bizarre piece of legislation that claims to protect marriage by restricting gay and lesbian participation, but doesn't go so far as outlawing divorce. 

Matt's Democrat opponent, Dave Robinson, has a reputation as a decent guy.  But he supports the Buffett rule, which Republicans claim would support our deficit spending for 11 hours but that Democrats claim would say would support our deficit spending for up to 18 hours. 
He also supports ObamaCare, opposes the privatization of Social Security, dislikes teacher testing, and claims that there's Republican obstruction in Congress.  (I don't know if Dave is aware of how many Democrat senators voted for Obama's last two budgets....) 

Now, back to business. 

Here are Matt's positions on the big issues:

No more bailouts

Republicans and Democrats keep interfering in our economy, making taxpayers pay when big businesses make bad decisions. That just encourages them to act irresponsibly. The government should stop picking winners and losers. No more bailouts.

End foreign wars

Republicans used to say they opposed nation-building, yet they have led nation-building efforts in countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Democrats promised to end the wars abroad, but they have only prolonged them. We need to end our policies of foreign interventionism now, stop the drone attacks, and bring our troops home. 

End the war on drugs

The war on drugs has been expensive and destructive. The government has thrown people in prison who never hurt anyone, and has also created huge violent black markets. Drug abuse can be a serious health issue, but it should not be a crime. It's time to end the war on drugs.

Shut down federal departments

We need to shut down federal departments such as Education, Commerce and Homeland Security.  Republicans have often promised to reduce these departments, but have not followed through on these promises.  Over the last twelve years, Republicans have frequently voted for massive increases in these departments. Let's shut them down instead. 

No more farm subsidies

Politicians from agricultural states use farm subsidies to buy votes. Farmers don't need subsidies, and most of the benefits go to huge agribusinesses. Let's reduce the burden on taxpayers by ending farm subsidies.

End the TSA

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) wastes our money groping us at airports. The TSA is just wasteful security theater that violates our rights. Let's end it.

Get government out of job creation

Government jobs programs destroy more jobs than they create. By redirecting money away from the productive and efficient private sector, they harm our economy and cause a net loss of jobs. Let's end these programs.

Cut entitlements

We've promised people far too much. They are not going to get what they've been led to expect. Let's be honest and stop making false promises. We need to cut entitlement spending now.

Stop mortgaging our future

Government debt has placed an unfair burden on our children and grandchildren. Republicans and Democrats often complain about the debt, but they're the ones who keep causing it. We need to cut federal spending by more than 40% right away, to stop increasing this burden.

Cut taxes ("Fair" Tax instead)

If you've read this far, you've seen many ways to cut federal spending. Once all those items expressed above are cut, we'll be able to make huge cuts in federal taxes. A "fair" tax will simplify our tax code, thus eliminating the current loopholes benefiting the politically-connected and empower people to choose how they will be taxed based on their purchases, not their income.  We might even be able to get rid of the IRS.

Here's a map of Texas U.S. District 12.  If you live in Western Tarrant, Parker, or Wise County, and like what you've read here, I hope you'll consider voting for Matthew Solodow !!

Corrupt Insurance Company DOUBLES Bills After Signing Up Customers !!!

From The Washington Examiner comes an expose of unscrupulous healthcare providers quoting a low price for medical treatment and then DOUBLING the amount charged to the customer. 
I look forward to breathless editorials from the New York Times, the Washington Post and 60 Minutes condemning this practice and those who oversee it. 

President Obama's national health care law will cost $1.76 trillion over a decade, according to a new projection released today by the Congressional Budget Office, rather than the $940 billion forecast when it was signed into law.

Raise your hand if you are shocked.  Anyone?  Anybody?  I didn't think so. 

Democrats employed many accounting tricks when they were pushing through the national health care legislation, the most egregious of which was to delay full implementation of the law until 2014, so it would appear cheaper under the CBO's standard ten-year budget window and, at least on paper, meet Obama's pledge that the legislation would cost "around $900 billion over 10 years." When the final CBO score came out before passage, critics noted that the true 10 year cost would be far higher than advertised once projections accounted for full implementation.

The 2014 date also got Obama past the 2012 elections and also gets some distance between the 2008 Congress and the inevitable consequences of this mess. 
This graph is old and out of date, but it's the most recent one I could find.  Like the Democrats, I like to post eye-popping charts of disastrous consequences.  In this case the chart isn't horrible enough, and I apologize. 

Today, the CBO released new projections from 2013 extending through 2022, and the results are as critics expected: the ten-year cost of the law's core provisions to expand health insurance coverage has now ballooned to $1.76 trillion. That's because we now have estimates for Obamacare's first nine years of full implementation, rather than the mere six when it was signed into law. Only next year will we get a true ten-year cost estimate, if the law isn't overturned by the Supreme Court or repealed by then.

Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn has said that ObamaCare will never be repealed.  That's why you need to start voting for Libertarians. 
Mitt Romney was the John The Baptist for ObamaCare.  He will be the Republican nominee for president.  That's why you need to start voting for Libertarians. 
Fort Worth's Trinity River Vision Authority has had similar cost overruns without accomplishing much of anything but marketing.  They're trying to build a massive lake downtown that will be known to your granchildren debtors as "Lake Granger", after the family of Republican Congresswoman Kay Granger.  That's why you need to start voting for Libertarians. 

Given that in 2022, the last year available, the gross cost of the coverage expansions are $265 billion, we're likely looking at about $2 trillion over the first decade, or more than double what Obama advertised.
UPDATE: I've done another post with additional details from the CBO report.

These are the numbers from the Congressional Budget Office.  I don't think the Congressional Budget Office could properly predict the winner of a New York Giants vs. Little Sisters Of The Blind wager in the Super Bowl. Their predicted cost is very, very low.  Hide and watch. 

Fort Worth might get a Flood Control Drive-In Theatre !!!

I've long thought that the purpose of government projects is to transfer money to donors. 
The project needs to have some feasibility, but not much else.  Just get the taxpayer money into the hands of your friends without causing too much of a fuss. 

It's getting ridiculous. 

Arlington built George W. Bush a stadium to his exact specifications.  He moved his baseball team in, and then sold the team for far more than he paid for it.  (86 million purchase price, 250 selling price.)  The difference?  His almost-free stadium.  (Taxpayer subsidy of 205 million.)

  Well done, thou good and faithful servants. 

Arlington built Jerry Jones a stadium to his exact specifications, and then leased it to him.  I don't remember Jerry saying "Thank You", or mailing me some tickets to games.  Oh well. 

Iron Horse Motorcycles of Fort Worth went bankrupt several years ago.  The city is stuck with their manufacturing facility for reasons that I don't quite understand. 

I think "we" agreed to give them a building if they would bring X number of jobs to Fort Worth.  If you need a free building, forcibly funded by taxpayers, you might not have a good business model.  I looked at leasing the Iron Horse factory for my employer last year, but the dock locations in the building were all wrong for us.  Getting new docks added would require the permission of several layers of city government, so we declined the opportunity.  Whether you know it or not, you own an abandoned motorcycle factory. 

Does anyone out there remember the Fort Worth Rail Market?  It was supposed to be a downtown Farmers' Market, luring downtown shoppers into the rail area to pick up tomatoes and onions before they went back home to Mira Vista. 

Part of it was supposed to get funded through transportation money.  (Yes, Kay Granger was involved.  I think that Railroad Produce Stands were a primitive ancestor of Flood Control BarBQ restaurants.)  The thing is now closed.  Shut down.  Abandoned.  It never made a dime.  Go here for an analysis of the boondoggle. 

How about The Mercado de Fort Worth? 

This was a Northside con job that was supposed to be the crown jewel of Cowtown. 

When the Mercado itself last made news, it had just landed its first tenant after more than five years of sitting empty and neglected.

What was supposed to be the pillar of a $6.5 million Northside redevelopment – an authentic Mexican marketplace – had failed to ignite the expected growth along North Main Street.

....It seemed like a good idea at the time: Bring economic development to Fort Worth’s near Northside by developing an area of shops, restaurants and stalls – a Mercado, reflecting the heritage of the mostly Hispanic residents of the neighborhood – and, in the process tie the touristy Stockyards District to downtown.

It started with a sidewalk, an expensive three-block-long sidewalk, in the alley between the mostly dilapidated buildings in the 1400 block of North Main Street and the houses that backed up to them. The plan was for local merchants to set up stalls to sell their goods to tourists who would make their way from the Stockyards area, several city blocks away. The city spent about $1.5 million to pave the alley and renovate the Rose Marine Theater.

Then came the Mercado de Fort Worth building, the brainstorm of local developer Deyla Guadiana. It was supposed to be a 58,000-square-foot, Mexican-style marketplace three stories high that would be the focal point of the Mercado area. Guadiana got a $3.1 million loan from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and construction began in 2003.

The city tried to spur interest in both the walkway and the Mercado building by offering low-interest loans and a building site to anyone willing to take a risk. They didn’t find many takers.

Guadiana defaulted on the loan after failing to come up with the private financing to cover the remainder of the construction costs and the city took back the property, taking over the note and spending $1.3 million from a special economic development fund to finish the building.

Finding a buyer took years. 

 And I hope the cashier remembered to give him his change back after the purchase.  The Mercado isn't quite as empty as the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem, but it's close. 

If I steal money from your wallet, and use it to buy jewelry and cocaine and cars from my friends, it's going to cause a temporary increase in prosperity for the jewelers, coke, and car dealers.  But it will never last.  It always seems to require an additional theft, doesn't it? 

I could go on and on, but here's the latest....from the Star-Telegram, which reported this with no irony or sarcasm, which might explain why newsstand sales are declining:

FORT WORTH -- The Tarrant Regional Water District next week will consider entering into a lease with Dallas-based Coyote Theaters for a drive-in theater on vacant land near LaGrave Field.
The drive-in would be there for about 10 years, potentially drawing 300,000 patrons a year to Trinity Uptown. It would also net the water district about $1.7 million in rent, according to information filed with the district.

And wild monkeys will fly out my rear end and put on an amateur production of "A Chorus Line".  I'd bet that every Texas drive-in combined doesn't draw 300,000 patrons a year.  For those of you new to the Trinity River development controversy, Congresswoman Kay Granger and her son J.D. are trying to pump a bunch of money into a flood control scam that involves million-dollar BarBQ restaurant giveaways and now, drive-in theatres.   

The drive-in would be called Coyote Theater in Trinity Uptown and would be on part of the 34 acres that the water district bought in 2010 from LaGrave Field owner Carl Bell. The site is near North Calhoun and Northeast Fifth streets, north of downtown Fort Worth.
"Drive-ins are making a comeback with a 20 percent increase in the number of venues since 2007," a district memo says. "The nostalgic outdoor theater is being reintroduced by Coyote as a high-quality, state-of-the-art, family-friendly entertainment option."

Drive-ins couldn't compete with indoor air-conditioned theatres.  Theatres in small towns couldn't compete with television, and almost all of them closed.  Theatres in cities are having a hard time competing with DVD's.  But J.D. Granger is going to reverse the trend, because this drive-in will be for.....flood control. 

The theater would have three or four screens, show first-run films and offer food, the memo says. The movies would be in English and Spanish.
J.D. Granger, Trinity River development director for the water district, could not be reached for comment Friday. The district is scheduled to consider the proposal Tuesday.

I cannot wait to post J.D. Granger's comments, if he ever has the nerve to make any.  I cannot wait.  I have no doubt that this project will be approved, and that it will quickly go broke as the Ten Commandments.  All I ask is an opportunity to post The Granger Gang's comments on building a new drive-in with your money, in the year of our Lord 2012.  Please, please, please Dear God, let me have his comments. 

Drive-ins.com lists 17 drive-in theaters in Texas, including one in Ennis and one in Granbury.
Not much is known about Coyote Theaters, but the Fort Worth site will apparently be its first location. The company does not have a listed phone number.
Coyote Theaters filed incorporation papers with the Texas secretary of state's office Aug. 2 and lists its management as Todd Minnis, Brady Wood, Scott Wilson and Glenn Solomon.

I couldn't find anything on them either.  That is the nature of the coyote.  Go in, feast on the rotting carcass, and get out in a hurry.  We'll see if the name fits, won't we? 

Wood, who was involved in some West Seventh Street corridor projects with the development group Incap Fund, was the only person to attend a tour and pre-proposal conference last month at the project site. Minnis is head of Arrow Retail, a sister company of Dallas-based Cypress Equities, which developed the West 7th office, retail and residential project.
Last month, the water district requested proposals from developers who would want to use the land temporarily. The theater proposal was one of two submitted. The district said it would like to see a project under way by May.
The $909 million Trinity Uptown project will feature a town lake and 12 miles of waterfront development.

See you at the drive-in !   You might as well go, since you're going to pay for it. 

I couldn't find a picture of a Flood Control Drive-In, so I had to make do with a picture of a flooded drive-in.  My apologies.  The picture came from here.  The other pics came from this website, or the official websites most associated with the ripoffs. 

The Trinity River Flood Control Wakeboard Park and Flood Control Bar-B-Que Joint

I've given up on the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for coverage of anything remotely controversial.  I don't think they want to irritate the one little old lady who still puts her garage sale notices in their classifieds.

Sports scores?  The betting line on the Super Bowl?  If my cell phone can't pick up Google, I'll buy a Star-Telegram for that info. 
Here's where I've been finding myself going for local news lately:  The Star-Telegraph. 

For instance....If you live in Fort Worth, you're probably aware that JD Granger and his Mama are trying to fleece the taxpayers via a multi-billion dollar "flood control" project. 

Here's what The Star-Telegraph had to say about the Flood Control Wakeboard Park after our recent heavy rains.  (And I can't find a word in the Star-Telegram about this):

The Cowtown Wakeboard park, part of the Trinity River Vision "flood" control project in Fort Worth, failed to save anyone from flooding today.  Apparently, it couldn't even save itself.

The Trinity River took back the wakeboard park.  And left a sign of just how clean the river is.  Remember that when they invite you to Tube the Trinity during the Rockin' the River events brought to you by the Trinity River Vision Authority and the Tarrant Regional Water District.

With all the flooding footage today, WHY did you not see any of the wakeboard park? 
Ask.
While you're at it, ask what it cost YOU and what it's going to cost YOU to repair it.  After all, it's YOUR money.

Here's another for instance.... We've also been burdened with a Flood Control Bar-B-Que Joint. 
Was there open bidding between restaurants for this prime real estate?  Did the city give notice that some Flood Control Restaurants could open on the banks of the Trinity? 
Hell to the No. 

Here's DFW.COM on the sweetheart deal that celebrity chef Tim Love got for his new restaurant, The Wood Shed:

Love and the Trinity River Vision Authority have taken some heat because the TRVA signed a 10-year lease with Love without open bidding. But Love says he hopes the restaurant, located just west of University Drive not far from Hoffbrau Steaks, will help open the door for other restaurants along the river.


"I've gotten beat up a little bit in the last couple of months," he continues. "But I'm trying to make [the river area] better. When I did the lease, I said, 'I want to do something for the river.' Somehow that backfired on me. I thought people would be excited about the fact that they could come here and drink a beer and 6 percent of it goes back to the [district]. I mean, that's pretty cool."

I could spend the rest of the morning dissecting that quote, but work beckons.  "I want to do something for the river????"  Good Lord in heaven, Tim, they spent $970,000.00 in public money to build your Bar-B-Que joint !!!!! 

"Ask not what you can do for your river.  Ask why I'm having to build your freakin' restaurant for you." - not John F. Kennedy 

Here's something from the Trinity River Partnership on the sweetheart deal:

After behind-the-scenes negotiations, without public input or competitive bidding, the Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD) has spent $970,000 of public money to build a restaurant near a popular trail head along the Trinity River. Along the way, the Water District signed a 10-year lease with celebrity chef Tim Love to run it, without a competitive bidding process.....

Instead of paying rent on the building, the Woodshed will pay a percentage of its total sales to the TRVA. According to the lease, the Woodshed would pay the Water District 6 percent on its first $500,000 of sales, 5 percent on the next $500,000 and 4 percent on sales of more than $1,000,001. Love is also responsible for utilities, maintenance and upkeep of the building.


The lease was drafted and approved by Ken Brummett, the water district’s general counsel, but not voted on by the district’s board.....

Board member Jim Lane denies there’s anything untoward about the deal.


“People say there’s no transparency but there is plenty of transparency,” he said. “Other restaurateurs were contacted and no one had any interest until Tim Love stepped up. I’m sorry other restaurateurs feel, now, that they didn’t get a chance to be part of that. But we’ve been discussing this for a long time.”

Other restauranteurs were contacted?  Did Jim Lane decide which ones would be contacted?  The Massion on Turtle Creek?  Tavern on The Green?  Whose clientele is so high-toned that they would turn down something like this? 
That's not the way it is supposed to work.  Was there a public notice that a restaurant spot was going to be available?  Can you imagine the feeding frenzy that would have erupted with legit businesses competing for that site? 

The Fort Worth Stock show didn't produce this much bullshit. 

If you live in Fort Worth, you GAVE Tim Love a restaurant. 
If you live in Fort Worth, you're giving the Grangers a billion dollar boondoggle. 
It really is that simple. 

A blog and a freebie mag are the only ones to criticize the travesty. 

Fort Worth Star-Telegram - R.I.P. 

When you're about to lose an election....POSTPONE IT !!!

A government outfit known as the Trinity River Vision Authority is trying to use Eminent Domain, Earmarks, Extreme Environmentalism, and almost every other vice of this horrific decade to take land and money from taxpayers for a private real estate development. 

The Trinity is beautiful from a distance.  Up close, according to Channel 8, it's still filled with feces, much like the Trinity River Vision Authority.  Here's a picture from one of last summer's TRVA events, featuring people floating around in your old sewage:

The original plan was to turn part of the Trinity into something like San Antonio's "Riverwalk".  That stunk too much of cronyism even for our slumbering citizenry, so now the emphasis is on flood control.  It's now a safety project that just happens to have major real estate developments, theatres, restaurants, etc. along its banks. 

It's had the usual cost overages:

The politically-connected are all in place:

And the usual victims (you) are on the hook for any failures.  Socialize The Cost; Privatize The Profit !!!!

And now, from The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, comes this bit of greatness about the Tarrant Regional Water District Board, the outfit responsible for the necessary thefts, looting and dredging required to build Lake Granger:

In a 3-2 vote, the Tarrant Regional Water District board voted to shift its election date for three board seats from May 2012 to May 2013. Vic Henderson, chair of the water board, said the switch was made to bring the water district's election date in line most of the other Tarrant County governmental entities that have shifted to odd rather than even years. But the water board, which historically has been known for casting unanimous votes, was split on the issue. Board members Hal Sparks and Jim Lane voted against the issue, saying they felt the water code was clear that elections should be held in odd years even though the water district had obtained a letter from the Secretary of State's office saying they could move the date. Sparks, Henderson and board member Jack Stevens were slated to be up for re-election but will now serve for another year. Sparks said he felt like he made an agreement with voters to serve four years when he was elected and voted his conscience on the issue. But he said he plans to serve the remainder of his term.

They are postponing their own elections for a year !!!   They are postponing their own elections for a year !!! 
Unbelievable !!!  And we're probably going to put up with it, like a bunch of compliant sheep !! 

Had this happened to any reasonably alert group of voters, the hardware stores would already be sold out of pitchforks and torches.  Good Lord in heaven.  When are we going to wake up ????

There is an alternative to this madness, called the Trinity River Improvement Partnership.  They're trying to act as a Granger watchdog group, and to present an alternative plan.  Hit the link.  Please help them out any way you can. 

TRIP. Tonight. Rahr Brewery. 6:30.

I'm playing guitar and singing with Mike Coyne and Big Daddy John Spivey at the Rahr Brewery in Fort Worth tonight at 6:30. 
It's a fund-raiser for TRIP, the Trinity River Improvement Partnership.  You also get to see a documentary called Up A Creek, detailing the history of the Trinity River and the dangers of the current Trinity River development plan.  TRIP was set up as an alternative to the billion-dollar Trinity River Vision boondoggle set up by and for JD and his mama, Kay Granger.  I'm sure that I'll be posting more about this group as I learn more about it.  Hell, the Granger outfit has already doubled the size of the original budget.  (It's now up to something like 900 million.) 

I'm going to be doing some Buffet tunes, some Jerry Jeff Walker, and a few originals.  Spivey will be singing an original composition called "Mama Tried".  (Guess who that one is about !!) 

Here's the lyrics to one of the songs I'll be doing.  There was an old guy named James Cook who worked on my father's farm, and about three times a year he'd tell me about a little dog that helped his family get through the Great Depression.  I wrote this in honor of Mr. Cook, and his dog, and to get in a slam at Franklin Roosevelt. 
It's called "The Dog That Knew". 

"Back in the Great Depression, I made fifty cents a day,
Just digging ditches, picking cotton, or whatever else would pay.
Had a house full of kids, and couldn't keep 'em fed,
Every night we'd go to sleep, afraid we'd wake up dead. 

Well, one day here's this little dog like I have not seen since,
As if God had crossed a beagle with some kind of barbed wire fence,
And that little dog did something that I've never seen before,
He went and caught a rabbit, and then laid it at my door. 

Well, Daisy took that rabbit and she threw it in a pot,
Then we sat down at the table, thanked the Lord for what we got,
We thanked the Lord for sunshine and them children in the yard,
And we thanked God for little dogs that knew that times were hard.

Had that dog for seven years and Lord, he fed us well. 
That dog could bring a rabbit back straight from the gates of hell,
You see those rabbits ran like lightning up and down that river bank,
Sometimes they ran through gulleys that could scare a Sherman tank. 

And Mr. Roosevelt he said "It's only fear itself",
Well I bet Mr. Roosevelt had groceries on his shelf. 
They said it was a brand New Deal, that's all that some folks had. 
We had us a little dog that knew that times were bad. 

Well, Daisy took that rabbit and she threw it in a pot,

Then we sat down at the table, thanked the Lord for what we got,
We thanked the Lord for sunshine and them children in the yard,
And we thanked God for little dogs that knew that times were hard.

It's been forty years, I guess, since I first heard it said,
About that old man's dog and how it kept his family fed -
You see, my back yard's full of dachshunds, those useless weiner dogs;
Never caught a rabbit, and Lord they eat like hogs. 

Sometimes I'll take 'em huntin', and Lordy what a sight,
There's a man whose little dogs are scared that rabbits bite.
So if y'all see me looking like I don't eat enough,
It's because my little dogs don't know that times are tough. 

So y'all bring me a rabbit, and I'll throw it in a pot,
I'll sit down at the table, and thank the Lord for what I've got.
I'll thank the Lord for sunshine and those dachshunds in the yard,
But I'll wish I had some little dogs that knew that times are hard. 

Hope to see some of you tonight !!!

Well, at least we tried - The Tarrant Regional Water District's "River Of Slush" will keep flowing

Well, at least we tried. 

My friend Adrian Murray was unsuccessful in his bid to get a seat on the Tarrant Regional Water District board yesterday. 

Here's the Startlegram:

The campaign was marked by dramatically different depictions of the water district. Lane and Leonard said the district is a well-run organization that is aggressively seeking other water sources. Murray and Basham criticized the board for high-ticket purchases such as a helicopter and argued that the current leadership was recklessly spending public money and making its decisions in secret.

And here are a few blurbs on the Tarrant Regional Water District's Trinity River Vision Project from the Fort Worth Weekly, a periodical not overseen by the people who will profit from this boondoggle project.  This piece was written back in 2007, and I understand that the spending is now approaching a billion dollars. 
Just for some background, this is what the Trinity looked like before they spent the billion dollars.


View Larger Map

Here's what the Trinity looks like now that they've spent the billion dollars.  I think they've torn down two buildings so far.  If someone has a more recent photo of the non-progress, I'll gladly post it.


View Larger Map

Notice the subtle differences?  I don't either.  There aren't any.
Heck, we coulda dredged out a new river running from Burleson to Abbott for that amount. 
Sorry for the digression.  Here's the Fort Worth Weekly:

....According to records obtained by Fort Worth Weekly under the state open records law, the district will spend about $600,000 this year on outside lobbying firms. DFW Airport, by comparison, will spend $560,000 with two Washington lobbying firms, and DART has budgeted about $310,000. Fort Worth paid its Washington lobby firm $168,000 in 2006, and Dallas spent about $240,000.

....Trying to find out why the water district needs to spend so much on lobbying is difficult. Neither Trinity River Vision Authority director J.D. Granger — son of the congresswoman — nor water district board president Victor W. Henderson returned calls seeking comment. Board vice president Hal S. Sparks III said it was not “his place” to comment on such contracts and referred all queries to Tarrant water district general manager Jim Oliver.

....Clyde Picht, who lost to Lane in the water district board race last year, said, “This is a local agency that should basically be concentrating on delivering water cheaply and efficiently to the cities in North Texas. Why would they even need any lobbyists in Washington?”



He has recently announced he will seek a new term on Fort Worth City Council — in part to continue his opposition to the Trinity Vision project. “Their spending habits are getting out of hand,” he said. Picht noted that the water district is already spending more than $100,000 a year on J.D. Granger’s salary (remember, that's Congresswoman Kay Granger's boy - TWS), “and I figured maybe part of his deal might be that he has to call his mother every once in awhile. But I guess they have to hire someone in Washington to keep in contact with her.”


Since October 2001, the district has paid Washington lobbying firm Hicks-Richardson $256,653. The company is budgeted for $60,000 this year. Another Washington lobbying firm, Welch Resources, is due to receive $120,000 in fiscal 2007, and has been paid $290,260 since it first started lobbying for the river agency in 2004.

Local politically connected people are also getting big paydays. Political consultant Bryan Eppstein, who has worked on the campaigns of many water district board members as well as those of Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief, is getting a combined $30,000 a month from the water district and Trinity River Vision Authority for a communications/lobbying firm he will head. Included in the duties, according to the contract, are “the development and implementation of legislative and regulatory strategies.” The total worth of the contract, which runs through 2010, is $1.4 million.

....Former Texas House Speaker Gib Lewis, who handles lobbying in Austin for the Tarrant district, is budgeted to receive $60,000 this year. Since October 2001, Lewis has been paid $283,500 by the water district. Neither Eppstein nor Lewis returned the Weekly’s calls for this story.

....The $120,000 yearly contract with Welch Resources has raised even more questions from critics. Welch is run by former U.S. Rep. Mike Parker of Mississippi, who booked more than $1 million in lobbying contracts last year.

....Steve Hollern, a former Tarrant County GOP chairman, called the TRV a “massive transfer of wealth from private citizens to rich developers.” The lobbying, Hollern said, “is just part of the cost to keep this transfer going. But I have to give the devil his due. They plan and execute behind the scenes in ways that would make Machiavelli take notice.”

Move along, people, nothing to see here.  Please keep moving, please keep moving. 

Pics came from here and here.