Letters from our Readers - August 2007

Republican Tax Relief
The real meaning of Republican tax relief is to cut taxes for the wealthy and to pass debt on to future generations. It is important to understand this and to hold our political leaders accountable for their policies, or bad policy gets repeated. This has happened with the last three Republican Presidents. As I outlined in an article in March 2007, the fiscal policies of 18 years of Republican Presidents (Reagan, Bush Sr. and Bush Jr.) have taken our national debt from one trillion to nine trillion dollars.
The wealthy and the corporations have been the primary recipients of Republican tax cuts. For instance, the tax rates paid including federal income, excise and social security, and federal and state sales tax for the middle class and poor (the lower 80% in income) was 19% at the end of 1980 when the so called “Reagan tax revolution” began. And, at the end of 2006, their rate was 22%.
The comparable tax rate paid by the upper 10% in income was 31% in 1980 and 26.6% in 2006. So while the tax rate for the middle class and poor has gone up, the tax rate for the wealthy has gone down. These tax rate figures were prepared by world economist and New York Times best selling author, Dr. Ravi Batra, 2007. The tax rate paid by the upper 10% is very little more than the middle class and poor (the lower 80%). Warren Buffett (the third wealthiest individual in the world) says the tax rate he pays on his last few dollars of income is lower than that of his company's receptionist or his cleaning lady.
When the Republicans talk about “tax relief,” what they are really talking about is cutting taxes for the wealthy and creating large budget deficits. I repeat, Republican “tax relief” means cutting taxes for the wealthy and creating a large national debt to be paid for by future generations.
Dick Alexander
The Woodlands, Texas 

Real Reasons for Price Gouging
Bill Peacock & Margo Thorning's letter concerning gasoline price gouging laws threw up several red flags with me. They argue that we, the people, have a "common misconception" that oil companies are getting rich at our expense- ya think? They say our price hikes come from lack of new refinery construction but whose fault is that? Exxon/Mobil made $80 billion dollars profit in just 1 quarter last year. Can't $80 BILLION dollars buy a new refinery? Could it at least be a down payment towards a new one? They also claim that price caps "ultimately produce harsh unintended consequences, including supply shortages and unnecessary economic hardships for consumers". Sounds more like a threat to me. 
They ask us to remember the long gas lines and shortages and inflation that came from the 1970’s price controls. I do, but I also knew an Exxon geophysicist in 1980 who told me the oil shortage was a big lie to hike prices. I suspect the same now. One of their solutions is for the government to help increase refinery capacity. Here comes more corporate welfare to help greedy oil companies make even more money. They state that "...the economic reality is that fluctuations in fuel prices serve as basic signals to producers to either increase or decrease supplies." Now stop and think what they are really saying in this statement. Remember the tv commercial where the price for amusement park tickets goes up every other second while the father struggles to get his money out of his wallet? This is how the oil industry is really operating. When they have too much oil on hand they cut back production to keep the price high. They then blame the increase on lack of refining but guess who is in charge of building refineries? The refinery fairy? 
But we all know that we do not need another Katrina as an excuse for the oil companies to try and maximize their profits. Every single day there is another story about how "speculation" by one clown or another means that the gas at my neighborhood pump immediately jumps by 5 cents. I think you will find that the organization that the writers belong to is just a front for the oil lobby and nothing else.
Richard Amburgey
Spring, Texas

Protesting Injustice
Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel stated, “There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.” In the case of the imprisoned former border agents Ignacio Ramos and Alonso Compean, now is our time to protest.
Despite an outcry from Republicans and Democrats, the White House continues to remain mute on pardoning these agents after they were sentenced to 11 and 12 year federal prison terms. As Representative Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) pointedly remarked, “The Ramos and Compean conviction has been the greatest misjustice that I have seen, and I have seen a lot.”
The two agents were convicted in January after shooting a drug smuggler along the border near El Paso, Texas. The drug smuggler was injured in the shooting, but quickly fled back across the border to a waiting van. Upon further investigation, the agents found nearly 750 pounds of marijuana in his van, which as Representative Rohrabacher further noted, “more than a million dollars in illegal drugs were stopped from being sold to our children.”
Although both agents testified in court that the smuggler was armed and that they were in fear of their lives after a high speed chase, U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton was able to beguile himself and the jury into believing the illegal drug smuggler. Yes, Sutton gave the smuggler full immunity for his illegal activities in exchange for the smuggler’s testimony against the agents. This action of U.S. Attorney Sutton, however, took a concerted effort on his part to find the smuggler in Mexico. After tracking him down, Sutton not only let the smuggler off the hook for the drugs, but also he provided the smuggler with an all access pass into the United States for interviews by attorneys.
The free pass granted to the smuggler may sound harmless enough, but on one of the smuggler’s trips across the border for interviews, the smuggler once again smuggled illegal drugs. This little tid-bit of information was not released during the trial of the Border Patrol agents, however, as it might taint the smuggler’s testimony. Furthermore, the judge decided to place a gag order on all parties because the smuggler had stated that he and his friends considered hosting a “hunting party” to shoot Border Patrol agents!
CNN Correspondent Lou Dobbs correctly assessed the service and the punishment of Agents Ramos and Compean when he stated: “The two Border Patrol agents received excessive sentence by any reasonable standard of justice. The agents were serving their nation in a war zone along our southern border.” From drugs to terrorists, our porous northern and southern borders are one of our greatest security threats! So, just what message is the U.S. Department of Justice sending to the men and women who serve along the border daily? 
T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council has correctly pointed out: “they (Ramos and Compean) committed no crime. They were simply defending themselves against an armed drug smuggler.” From February 1, 2005 to June 30, 2007, there were 1,982 incidents in which Border Patrol agents were assaulted. Can any of the Border Patrol agents now truly believe that they can defend themselves and our nation without the possibility of going to prison for over a decade?
Even though the two agents are now awaiting their appeals behind bars, Congress has heard the cries of the people. On July 25th, the House voted by voice to block the Bureau of Prisons from keeping the agents in prison. Representative Ted Poe, R-Texas explained, “What this does is release these two individuals while the appeal goes on,” as it blocks the Bureau from spending any money to incarcerate them. The Senate Judiciary Committee also held a hearing last week to investigate further this atrocious sentence. The Committee Chair, Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) as well as Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) not only grilled U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, but also committed to writing President Bush to request his commutation of the agents’ sentences. 
Additionally, Presidential hopeful Representative Duncan Hunter (R-CA) has written H.R. 563, which would vacate the sentences of both agents. The bill currently has 102 co-sponsors and is awaiting further review by the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. 
Although our protests are being heard, we cannot give up until justice prevails. Keep calling your representatives in Washington, and keep asking President Bush to commute the sentences of these two agents. Agents Ramos and Compean were protecting and serving their country; we must not sit idly by as they needlessly suffer in prison. Edmund Burke stated it best: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Gina Parker Ford
Waco, TX

Roy Head
In the late 60's, my mate, Chuck Barnet was Roy's agent and we went to several of Roy's gigs. I'll never forget his 'Try a Little Tenderness" performances. They were great! 
Hi to Roy and how unfair that Sundance is no longer on American Idol. That is WRONG! 
Devon Miller

Crazy Crimes Prey on Citizens
Even the wealthiest man in Texas may be no match for the gargantuan growth in criminal law. 
Retired Houston energy executive Dan Duncan finds himself in federal prosecutors’ crosshairs because he hunted moose in Russia from a helicopter. Felony charges may be brought under the Lacey Act, a law enacted in 1900 to prevent the interstate and international trafficking of rare plants and animals. The Act criminalizes "fish or wildlife taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of ... any foreign law.”
Duncan’s case is reminiscent of the 2001 Lacey Act case brought against David McNab and other lobster importers. They were charged by federal prosecutors with violating Venezuelan law because the lobsters they caught were too small and transported in opaque plastic bags instead of paper bags. Even though the Venezuelan government asked American prosecutors to drop the case, McNab languishes in federal prison on an eight-year sentence. Similarly, Russian authorities have no quarrel with Duncan.
When someone like Duncan who can afford the best legal advice can nevertheless be ensnared, it is time to reexamine the more than 4,000 federal criminal laws and more than 2,000 state criminal laws. 
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles recently released its annual list ranking the severity of all felonies. It weighs in at 2,324 felonies – that doesn’t include misdemeanors. It also counts catch-all offenses like violation of a rule issued by the Comptroller as a single crime.
While moose and lobsters don’t populate these parts, 11 of the 2,324 listed felonies relate to oysters. Fortunately, they are rated low severity; although oyster crimes can trigger prison sentences of up to 10 years, those who meddle with mollusks have a good shot at getting out early. 
Another 11 felonies relate to grain, but these offenders are not so lucky. Inexplicably, stealing grain and operating a grain warehouse without a license are ranked as low severity, but unlicensed delivery of grain and depositing grain without a title are ranked as medium severity – higher than attempted indecency with a child, three or more convictions for driving while intoxicated, and smuggling illegal immigrants.
There are hundreds of other excessive Texas criminal laws that regulate ordinary business conduct. It is a Class A misdemeanor – carrying up to a year in jail – to use, handle, store, or dispose of a pesticide in a manner that injures vegetation, crops, wildlife, or pollinating insects. Under the Water Code, it is a second degree felony – carrying up to 20 years in prison – if a person “fails to remit any fees collected by any person required to hold a permit under this section,” even though the fees range from $25 to $50.
Excessive use of criminal law, often referred to as overcriminalization, trivializes “real” crimes that involve injury to another person. It also deters productive economic activity. Who wants to risk importing lobsters or harvesting oysters if a minor mistake leads to many years behind bars? If business conduct does not defraud, steal, or poison someone, but simply runs afoul of a government regulation, it should trigger at most a civil fine. 
Another pitfall of overcriminalizaton is that those ensnared by these laws, even if they receive probation rather than a prison sentence, have a conviction on their record. This will likely make them ineligible for hundreds of state occupational licenses and cause them to encounter barriers to non-licensed employment, housing, and loans.
Between now and the next legislative session, Texas lawmakers should identify some of the thousands of criminal laws to repeal or convert to civil infractions. When hunters and fishermen must tether themselves to a lawyer or risk becoming unwitting criminals, our individual liberties could soon be declared the next endangered species.
Marc A. Levin, Esq
Director, Center for Effective Justice at the Texas Public Policy Foundation 
www.texaspolicy.com 

Pay Day Loans
I know there are a lot of people out there who needs extra cash for something. But beware, there is a predator out there called a payday loan and a poor soul who needs 
money, with a job, a checking account, and bad credit is the prey. Payday loan business is just like the rent to own furniture business, they take advantage of people when they are in a money and or credit pinch and need 
help. Their interest rates are as high as 390%. For example some places If you borrow 900.00 you pay back 1,500.00 in 3 months. 
I know when you need money, you need money, and the payback amount is not important so you worry about that later. Former Senator John Edwards is trying to get congress to look into the predatory practices of payday loans because like any other predator they feed on the weak and defenseless. But I can't bash payday loans because they are the only one to give help sometimes when you need it. 
The consumer just needs to be disciplined when borrowing. But the only problem is that if the consumer was disciplined about borrowing money(i.e. credit cards, car loans) they woudn't need to go there. So consumers please be careful and don't borrow more than you can afford to pay back.
Kyle Palmer
Willis, Texas

Why President Threatens to Veto SCHIP 
Reported a few days ago, "For the life of me, I can't understand why the president would want to veto this legislation," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., the Finance Committee chairman. "It's moderate, it's bipartisan, it helps low-income kids. ... It's just the right thing to do for the country." 
It's not complicated for me to understand why President Bush has threatened to veto the proposed increases for the State Children's Health Insurance Program. 
Believe whatever Bush spin you like. But having followed and fought tobacco since 1986, I know the reason for a Bush veto will be to prevent a long-overdue federal tax increase on tobacco. 
Never forget: Karl Rove worked with Big Tobacco for years prior to his puppeteer spot in the White House. 
I was fatherless and left without medical and dental insurance by Big and Brutal Tobacco at age 11.
Mike Sawyer
Executive Director, I Will Never Use Tobacco, Inc.
TobaccoKills2000@aol.com 
Birmingham, Alabama

TxDOT
Who is TxDOT Accountable to? Certainly not to communities and taxpayers! 
Under state law the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) virtually is omnipotent. The only entity that has some authority over the agency is the state legislature. 
The senate has its Committee on Transportation (& Homeland Security), headed by Chairman John Carona and Vice Chair Kirk Watson. While this body has some authority over TxDOT, in the past the agency at times has had belligerent conflicts with the committee.
The house has its Transportation Committee chaired by Mike Krusee and Larry Phillips.
Both legislative houses have maintained a "hands-off" policy when it comes to monitoring TxDOT. Generally, less government in daily affairs is a good thing, but when a state agency's motives, behavior and actions become questionable more government oversight is imperative to ensure that the needs of Texas communities are met with regard to transportation issues, e.g., the building and maintaining of roadways at state and local levels.
The governor appoints the head of the agency, currently it is Commissioner Ric Williamson.
Is TxDOT currently working in the best interests of Texans communities? Based on recent occurrences, it is doubtful.
Apparently, no one can or wants to hold TxDOT accountable.
Recently, TxDOT publicly stated that it would take money from one project scheduled in Hays County, SH 21, to pay for another one, FM 1826, that requires a 2nd resealing after the first attempt 9 months ago was botched by its contractor. 
"So what?" you may ask. 
Basically, it's an attempt by TxDOT to double-tax and double-charge Hays County taxpayers for performing the same job twice because it didn't do it right the first time.
So far, Senators and House Representatives have remained quiet regarding this issue.
Local Hays County officials don't like what is happening; however, their hands appear tied when it comes to holding the "renegade" agency accountable for its actions.
Responding to a complaint I sent to Hays District Attorney Sherri Tibbe, an email stated that the office will not investigate the issue because I have not "alleged a violation of a criminal statute".
DA Tibbe further responds:
The application of collected taxes to a project and the reapplication of collected taxes to the same project is not double taxation. You have not, to my knowledge, been asked to pay twice as many taxes for the implementation of phase 2.
Once it receives its funding for any fiscal year, TxDOT, like any other governmental entity, does have some latitude in seeing how those monies are applied. While TxDOT’s prioritization of spending may effect taxation in the future, it does not constitute a crime and does not qualify as double taxation. I believe the legislature controls, to some extent, what TxDOT does with their allocated state funds. 
Fellow Texans, since when is charging taxpayers twice to do the same road work NOT a violation of a criminal statute? 
If a contractor is hired to build a home's driveway and doesn't do the job properly, is it legal for the contractor to charge the homeowner again to perform the same job correctly?
Evidently, with regard to TxDOT the law permits the double-charging without identifying it as a double-tax or an act of a criminal nature.
Apparently, legislators have provided TxDOT with omnipotent power. It can do anything it wants with the protection provided by the law, and by our state and local officials.
I've been writing for years about TxDOT's abuse against Texas communities and still none of our legislators does anything about it. Where is the Senate Committee on Transportation when you need it?
When will Texans wake-up and smell the "Starbucks"?
What TxDOT is doing in Hays County it also does throughout the state. Despite what officials say and believe, the actions of TxDOT often are criminal in nature.
Since officials like DA Tibbe won't or can't under current law hold TxDOT accountable, the only alternative is legislative. The legislature does have authority over TxDOT.
Hard-working Texans must contact members of the Senate and House to tell them to "reign-in" and re-vamp "runaway stallion" TxDOT. At the least, our elected officials must ensure that TxDOT works in the best interests of Texas communities, which currently it isn't doing.
What TxDOT is trying to do in Hays County is criminal and it must be held accountable. No agency is permitted to double-tax and double-charge taxpayers for doing the same job.
Before you consider that this issue doesn't affect you or your county, know that TxDOT works the same way everywhere in Texas. It's time to stop the agency's abusive and corrupt practices.
Peter Stern,
Driftwood, TX

Bush’s Secret Exit Strategy
Rumors of President Bush's investment in South American real estate surfaced during his daughter's 10 day visit to Paraguay last fall. Officially, she represented the UN children's agency UNICEF. (Associated Press)
Upon her arrival in the capitol city of Asunción, accompanied by 10 Secret Service agents, she met immediately with Paraguay's president, Nicanor Duarte, and the US ambassador, James Cason, a central figure in the “Cuban Valera Project” controversy. http://www.cubanet.org/ref/dis/ngcuba_1.htm.  
The Paraguayan media suggested her real reason for the trip was a family "mission" to tie up the purchase of a 100,000 acre ranch at Chaco, near the Argentine border. (Tom Phillips, The Guardian, October 23, 2006)
I know any unsubstantiated report is still just a rumor but I counted over 100 items by just entering “Bush land purchase, Paraquay” on my search engine. Could it be possible that the drumbeat of a Democratic Congress has influenced Bush to set up a hideaway just in case he's hit with charges under the War Crimes Act of 1996? 
Maybe he promised Alberto Gonzales a corner of the family compound in payment for his preposterous prevarications before Congress on Bush's and Rove's behalf. I suppose Cheney has already bought his own country. 
Sadly, there are still some people defending these guys
"A Society of Sheep must in time beget a Government of Wolves" -- Bertrand de Jouvenal 
Bill Barnes
Conroe, TX 

Rose Colored Glasses
Upon his return from a four day tour of Iraq, US Congressman Kevin Brady gave a show and tell presentation to a friendly audience (Does he or Dubya ever give a presentation to a less than friendly audience??), the House Republican Conference, and then was invited to the White House to brief President Bush.
Guess what? Brady found that the surge was working. And in answer to those in his own party who see the surge as not working and are looking for a different strategy in Iraq, Brady stated, " With a number of vulnerable members (Republican) in the Senate and House up for re-election, my worry is the polls will drive Congress rather than what's needed on the ground in Iraq".
Brady simply wants us to forget that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, just the other day, told Dubya that he wants General David Petraeus out of his country because Petraeus is arming Sunni insurgents (Yes, with U.S. arms) so these terrorists can fight al-Qaeda. The problem, however, that al-Makiki sees is that these Sunni terrorists are killing his people, too; the Shiites who al-Maliki & Iran prefer run Iraq!
Further, Brady wishes that we not dwell on the fact that in the middle of a long, hot summer, Iraqis get less than four hours of electricity per day.
And, of course, Brady wants us to overlook the fact that Iraqis must queue up each day for hours to ensure that they have gas for their vehicles.
This in a land that holds the second largest proven oil reserves.
Finally, Brady would like us to overlook the fact that most foreign militants and al-Qaeda terrorists in Iraq come from Saudi Arabia, our "friends (?)" in the region.
Unfortunately, when Brady looks at Iraq , he sees what that great Country and Western singer, John Conlee, saw in his girl friend who was doing him wrong. Those "rose colored glasses" are hiding all the Iraqi truth from Brady as well. It's time that he and the rest of his diehard Republicans join the overwhelming majority of Americans and realize that we have done enough in Iraq and it is past time that the Iraqi people, collectively, decide on their own future without us.
Jim Farrell
Oak Ridge North 

Rubber Stamp
Why doesn't Texas Senator Kay "Two term" Bailey Hutchison have the phrase "I SUPPORT THE PRESIDENT IN EVERYTHING HE DOES" tattooed on her forehead? It seems to be her only comment to questions about his actions. I have emailed her office dozens of times regarding many of "w's" policies and I always get the same reply. If she gets the tattoo then she won't have to answer ANY questions. The cameramen will save a fortune on audio tape. When bush does something stupid and ignorant, the Senator can just point to her forehead. And when "w" does something right? ...well, we will have to wait and see if that comes up. Simplify your life Kay. Erase everything on your website and replace it with that one phrase "I SUPPORT THE PRESIDENT IN EVERYTHING HE DOES". Leave a standing order at the Senate that whatever "w" wants, he gets. Does Kay "rubber stamp" Bailey Hutchison even have any original beliefs or ideas?
Richard Amburgey
Spring, Texas 

A Monopoly By Any Other Name 
What’s in a name? Apparently, to a government school monopoly, it’s everything.
Last month, Pittsburgh Public Schools announced the district would be dropping the word “Public” from its name in order to avoid the negative connotation often associated with public schools. A paid marketing consultant helped develop the plan, which will also result in renaming the individual schools themselves.
While a “public” outcry has caused the district to reconsider the policy, the scheme serves as a powerful reminder of the upside-down priorities of public schools—and of government monopolies in general.
It’s no wonder why Pittsburgh’s schools suffer in public perception. While the district spends more than $12,000 per student on operating expenditures alone, only 40 percent of its high school students are proficient in mathematics. District students also perform below the national average on the SAT, ACT, and Advanced Placement tests. So one would think the best way for Pittsburgh schools to improve public perception would be to increase student’s learning, not to hire expensive consultants to rebrand the schools.
The district’s policy is reminiscent of a decision made by the United States Postal Service in 2006. Faced with customer complaints about lengthy wait times, it came up with a novel “solution”—removing the clocks from post office walls. Rather than streamlining its processes to increase efficiency, the postal service merely tried to shield customers from the knowledge that they were receiving subpar service.
Government monopolies don’t have to do the hard work of competing, and they don’t have to make any substantive changes when they’re failing. Public schools and the U.S. Postal Service are perfect examples of this mindset.
The private sector, on the other hand, cannot afford to resist meaningful change. Imagine the results if an obsolete factory decided to paint its exterior walls rather than installing up-to-date machinery. Would consumers be any happier to purchase their defective products just because they were made in a prettier facility? Private companies must respond to consumers’ desires for better products or shut down.
Public schools don’t face the same dilemma. As a government monopoly, they enjoy a captive group of consumers regardless of product quality. Unsatisfied parents and students have little recourse but to uproot and move to a new district, where they are still customers of an education monopoly. 
The public school establishment resists meaningful change—such as school choice, incentive pay, and financial accountability —because the lack of competition allows them to maintain the status quo. It’s much easier to rename a school than it is to implement dramatically positive, if at times uncomfortable, reforms.
Pittsburgh Public Schools’ new-name theory is not unprecedented. After taking over China in 1949, Communists renamed the country “The People’s Republic of China”—a mere pretense, since the new leaders certainly didn’t serve the people. Shortly after, government control over private property and the economy resulted in reduced production and widespread starvation.
But nearly 60 years later, China’s embrace of capitalism and the effects of competition have made it one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. 
China’s leaders realized that significant —not superficial—change was needed for the country to succeed. They introduced competition, and the results speak for themselves. When will our public schools do the same? 
Jamie Story
Austin, Texas

A Plea On Deaf Ears 
Will someone please tell Gina Parker Ford Lincoln Mercury that the border agents Ignacio Ramos and Alonso Compean are in prison due to the incompetence of the REPUBLICAN administration that has been in complete control of the government for the last 6 1/2 years. She wants us all to "keep asking President Bush to commute the sentences of these two agents". 
Keep asking? I guess "w" doesn't hear your pleas unless you can testify against his regime. So now, as a public service to the faint of vision and the republican faithful like Ms. Ford who just can't fathom where problems like this come from, I will repeat the the key reason for this problem: "GROSS INCOMPETENCE OF THE CURRENT REPUBLICAN ADMINISTRATION".
I eagerly await her next letter where she will wonder why the Justice Department has such a terrible image these last 6 1/2 years
Richard Amburgey
Spring, Texas

Texas' Privatization Boondoggles
Over the past decade Texas has aggressively privatized state government social services, a policy that was supposed to save taxpayers a fortune. Instead, the state has sunk hundreds of millions of dollars into privatization boondoggles that have squandered tax dollars and harmed those Texans who need assistance most. 
Beneficiaries of this waste include private contractors as well as the lobbyists who helped sell state officials on these privatization schemes. These interests arguably are the least deserving welfare recipients in Texas. A recent Texans For Public Justice study found that 13 state contractors involved in just four privatization schemes spent up to $11 million lobbying Texas state officials over the past decade. Yet the stakes behind this lobby push were much larger. The state of Texas has spent more than $2 billion on these four privatization schemes. 
A corrosive influence on these privatization contracts is the "revolving-door" between the public and private sectors, which frequently blurs the distinction between contractors, lobbyists and state officials in Texas. Too often officials craft legislation that fails to safeguard taxpayer interests, even as it lines their pockets or those of their past or future employers. 
Consider the 2003 law that promised to privatize $1 billion in state social services. Key architects of this policy included then-Rep. Arlene Wohlgemuth (R-Burleson), Health and Human Services Commissioner Albert Hawkins and Hawkins' deputy Gregg Phillips. Bizarrely Hawkins made Phillips his privatization point man, despite the fact that the state of Mississippi previously had chastised Phillips for handing out an $875,000 contract as that state's human-services czar and then going to work for the company to whom he awarded this contract. Recently the Dallas Morning News discovered that Wohlgemuth--now a lobbyist billing clients up to $700,000 a year--got House Appropriations Chair Warren Chisum to slip a provision into this year's Texas budget bill that sought to steer a major Medicaid-fraud contract to none other than Gregg Phillips. Asked about the appropriateness of inserting such a provision on behalf of a lobbyist, Chisum said lobbyists are the source of "all our" legislative language. Touché.
This may explain how taxpayers have been repeatedly fleeced in the state's recent efforts to privatize social services. In 2004, for example, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) awarded an $85 million contract to manage HHSC employee-administration functions such as its payroll. Yet Texas awarded this contract to Ohio-based Convergys, which already was bungling a similar contract in Florida. HHSC claimed that awarding this contract to a company with a poor track record would save taxpayers $63 million. A 2005 state audit found that HHSC fudged these estimates and the contract that had yet to save the state a dime.
In a Texas-sized blunder, the state has spent a half billion dollars overhauling the way it handles enrollment and eligibility in human-service programs such as Medicaid and children's health insurance. Texas hired Deloitte Consulting in 2001 to develop a massive new computer system to streamline this task. Four years later, the state awarded the largest contract in Texas history to an Accenture-led team to run the new computer system and eligibility call centers. Yet the call centers and the new computer system failed a trial run so badly that the state abruptly cancelled the contract and--$500 million later--state workers went back to processing claims with the old computer system. 
In 2007 the state expanded a Houston program that delivers Medicaid services through private HMOs to three new metropolitan areas. Things got off to a rocky start in Austin and San Antonio. HHSC suspended UnitedHealth's Evercare unit from enrolling new patients in the capital area after it failed to provide its existing clients with doctors. The agency next suspended Amerigroup enrollments in San Antonio after that HMO also failed to meet its contractual obligations. 
In a $19 million solution looking for a problem, the state hired a French finger-printing company in 1996 to crack-down on food-stamp fraud. The contract's chief defect was that there was little evidence of such fraud in the first place. According to a 2003 internal memo, for example, the state has spent $12 million on finger printing to prevent $59,000 worth of fraud. Instead of scaling back or terminating this contract, the state expanded it in 2004.
Next time Austin's well-paid lobbyists come peddling a privatization scheme as a sure way to save taxpayers a fortune, Texas officials could save a lot more by exercising a bit of skepticism. To avoid getting fleeced by private contractors, HHSC needs to stop paying contracts to solve phantom problems. It must fairly and independently evaluate competitive bids and refuse to award contracts to companies that have a reputation for failure. When contractors do fail, HHSC must quickly impose penalties or terminate contracts. Above all, the agency should award fewer and smaller privatization contracts until it has established its own track record for saving-rather than squandering-taxpayer money. 
Lauren Reinlie

Who Is The Real Hypocrite?
Could it be that there is something totally different behind Larry Flynt’s crusade to get the goods on members of Congress other than just his desire to expose hypocrites as he claims? Consider the following facts:
Larry Flynt is the undisputed king of the world of porn and smut – a multibillion dollar a year business. 
One of the most debated issues in Congress this session is the renewal of the Title V funding for abstinence-only education. 
These abstinence-only programs teach abstinence from sexual activity before marriage and faithfulness in marriage. 
The many well-developed abstinence-only programs over the nation have generated a change in the behavior of a large part of the young generation in a positive way. 
The failed comprehensive sex education has been taught for the last few decades while at the same time seeing a continual increase in teen sexual activity and the life damaging results thereof. 
Abstinence-only education has very likely cut a few million off Flynt’s multibillion dollar a year sex-related income. 
The Senator who was recently "exposed" by Flynt and termed as a "hypocrite" was a supporter of the Title V abstinence-only educational funding. 
Flynt says there are more Congressmen to be exposed. Very likely all of those he plans to expose are in favor of supporting the programs that are hurting Flynt’s business.
With all this in mind, who might the real hypocrite be?
Steve Casey 
Stonewall, LA

The Alternative to Toll Roads: An Adequate Gasoline Tax
A fuel tax, a.k.a. gasoline tax, is a sales tax imposed on the sale of fuel. The fuel tax in Texas is currently set at 20¢/gal since being raised to that amount in 1991.
As in most instances throughout the U.S. the fuel tax collected in Texas is dedicated to the building and maintenance of roadways; however, often it is 60-percent of the tax revenue that goes toward this effort while 40-percent of the collection is used for more general purposes, e.g., public and/or higher education. Consequently, much of the revenue is diverted to other interests.
We are told by Governor Rick Perry and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) that there is a vast shortage in the revenue for building and maintaining roadways and that the only method to improve that shortage is to generate toll roads.
Another reason for the lack of sufficient revenue from the collection of gasoline taxes is that the tax rate has been frozen in Texas since 1991. The reason for the freeze is unknown, at least publicly. Perry has been instrumental during his 2 terms as governor in continuing the freeze, frequently stating that increasing the gas tax is NOT an option. Furthermore, the Texas GOP has kept a platform of “No new taxes” and has supported the governor in maintaining the freeze on gasoline taxes.
So, apparently what we have in Texas is a self-imposed shortage of available financing to build and maintain roadways throughout the state. Six years ago Gov. Perry authorized TxDOT to “use whatever creative means available” to compensate for the shortage of financing and to generate more revenue for roadways. In reality, the meaning of that statement was for TxDOT and the legislature to develop the ways and means to build toll roads. The push for toll roads also was sparked by Perry’s wealthy pro-toll campaign contributors, which already had been determined and initiated when George Bush had been governor.
In conclusion, the shortage of revenue from the gasoline tax is self-imposed because of two reasons:
The gasoline tax rate has been frozen since 1991
Approximately 40-percent of gasoline tax revenue is being diverted to other interests.
Toll roads are NOT a cost-effective method of financing roadways. Generally, 80-percent of the toll revenue collected goes to the management, building and operations of the toll roads. It is not unusual for the state to contract the toll road to a private concern, e.g., on some toll projects the state has a 70-year contract with international toll maven CINTRA and its American partner Zachry Construction.
Because of the relatively inelastic nature of demand for fuel, in the short run the tax will be an effective source of revenue. In the long run, however, theory predicts that people adjust their consumption of petrol; that is, over a period of years, people will consume less as the price increases (by buying more fuel-efficient cars, for instance). Thus, some environmentalists have advocated a fuel tax as a way to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
Still, the more intelligent alternative to toll roads is to permit the gasoline tax rate to increase naturally along with the inflationary index and cost-of-living factors and to ensure that 100-percent of the revenue collected from the tax goes to the building and maintenance of our roadways.
Gov. Perry has vehemently stated that he will NOT support increasing the gasoline tax. 
However, if the state legislature agrees with and authorizes this effort, the revenue collected from adequate gasoline taxes will generate sufficient financing needed for building and maintaining our roads. Toll roads are NOT needed.
Peter Stern
Driftwood, TX

Torte Reform
I am a Special Education teacher of Secondary Education in Texas. 
February 28th, 2007, my back was seriously injured by one of my high school students. 
Before my student injured me I was a very physically and socially active individual and volunteered my services to help troubled and handicapped children and teenagers in equine therapy and horseback riding programs. Since the injury I am a cripple who hobbles around in constant, energy draining pain. I have had to curtail all of my social and church activities and obligations, and I have been placed in a position of financial ruin and extreme mental and emotional duress while wrangling with the Workman's Compensation system. 
It appears that our Texas state legislators passed a new torte reform in which any and all school district employees are refused Workman's Comp. income benefits throughout the summer months. All other employees who are injured on the job, but work in other occupational fields within this state, not considered 'seasonal work', do not suffer under this new torte reform. 
As a single woman, the Texas legislators' decision has led to my savings being completely drained, my near eviction, in August, if not for a compassionate landlord, my vehicle being under threat of repossession, and my being behind on all of my bills. 
My quality of life and ability to work effectively have been negatively and radically altered, and instead of receiving the ethical social protection and overall compensatory safety while recovering, for which the Workman's Comp. system was originally created, I have been further damaged on many levels by the changing ethical landscapes of that very same system. 
None of the processes, humiliations or pain I have been forced to endure over the past three months have been conducive to my recovery. 
Are we not a country that takes pride in creating enlightened beings with a social conscience ? Usually, what hurts one, hurts all; just as what benefits one, benefits all. Every Life-Stone - every Stone of Intention - has a Ripple Effect within the Waters of LIfe. What Life-Stones - what Stones of Intention are we choosing to cast into the Waters of our Nation? 
Leah Sellers 
Georgetown, TX

I Love Rush
You libbies wouldn' t know the truth even if it smacked you right between the eyes. The reason your ratings are dropping is you been caught in your lie. The black family has suffered the most at the hands of liberals and the commie "democrat" party. 
Long live RUSH and the rest of conservative radio!
Flamekkeeper@aol.com 

Woodlands Conservative Sicko's Won't Show "Sicko" 
One of the most important documentaries of our time, "Sicko," showed in Conroe for about a week at the most inconvenient times imaginable and it isn't even on the horizon for theaters in the Woodlands. 
You Sickos make me sick! 
Bill Barnes 
Conroe, TX

Christian Plight in Iraq
It was none other than the great Democratic president, Harry Truman, who was quotes as saying, "Those who do not learn from the mistakes of history are doomed to repeat them". 
In Iraq today, Christians who were free to worship under the tyrant, Saddam Hussein (Least we forget, he was President Reagan's "boy" and "our" tyrant in the 80s as our country supported Saddam in his war against Iran ), are, sadly, becoming extinct in their native land. The United Nations has reported that of the more than two million Iraqis that have fled from their country, a third, more that 700,000, are Christians. They are escaping from kidnappings, murders and the destruction of their houses of worship perpetrated by either Sunni extremists or Shite militiamen."There is a movement to annihilate Iraqi Christians", said George Gamo, a San Diego based attorney who advises the Chaldean Federation of America (Chaldean Christians are one of the oldest sects of Christians in the world), " and it's working". Gamo added that.."Churches are being bombed, our people are being harassed and many forced to convert to Islam so they can feed their families". 
Well, all we need do is to go back some ninety (90) years to find that the same outrages were happening to these very same Christians in the waning days of World War I. As the British and French poised their troops to carve up the Ottoman Empire, Turkish & Kurdish nationalists accused their Christian minorities of complicity and treason. The result; up to two (2) million Christians died. 
Adding insult to the devastating injuries and deaths of Christian Iraqis, our country allows but a trickle of Iraqi Christian refugees to emigrate here. Sweden alone has allowed 40,000 Iraqi emigrants into their country. How is this possible in a nation that is lead by a right wing Christian conservative who has lost all support for "his" war in Iraq from all but right wing Christian conservatives? Is there no "compassion" left in this strident sect of Christendom? 
I urge all of us to petition both of our US Senators and our US Congressman, Kevin Brady, to insist that we at least ensure that the Iraqi Christians displaced by the debacle in Iraq find a welcoming hand here in America. That is, indeed, the least we can do for starting a devastating war in their land that seems to have no end in sight. 
Jim Farrell 
Oak Ridge North

Light Him Well
If Ronald Reagan was the "great communicator," Mike Deaver must have been the "great illuminator." In fitting understatement, Deaver once told an interviewer: "I've always said the only thing I did is light him well," 
When Deaver died of cancer Saturday at age 69, he was vice chairman of Edelman International, a global public relations firm. But his days in the spotlight, so to speak, were in the Reagan White House.
Deaver was deputy chief of staff and so much more. He was Reagan's imagemeister and First Lady Nancy Reagan's confidante. By her description, Deaver was "like a son to Ronnie." He was also the buffer between the First Lady and the Reagan campaign and staff aides who tiptoed around or blundered into differences with her. 
Deaver was in on Mrs. Reagan's use of an astrologer to plot a safe course for her husband. But that's another story and too long to tell here. It suffices to convey that Deaver, of all the Reagan aides, was closest to the couple and most entrusted with projecting and protecting their images.
Leslie Stahl, then the CBS White House correspondent, tells the often repeated story of writing what she considered a scathing report about budget cuts made by the Reagan administration. Stahl came to the White House the next morning expecting to be berated by White House officials. Instead she was greeted with compliments for her report.
Finally, Stahl confronted a Deaver deputy who shed light on her bewilderment.
"No one heard what you had to say in that piece," Stahl was told. "They just saw the pictures." And in those pictures, Reagan was glowing.
In this regard, the Reagan team was cocky, but good. Spokesman Larry Speakes kept a framed saying on the wall of his office that said: "Don't tell us how to stage the news. We won't tell you how to report it."
I don't buy the notion, as Stahl put it, that "pictures drowned out my words." At least not as an absolute. Perhaps I'm just an old radio guy, but the television in my office is not in my line of sight. I rarely just watch. I listen for audio cues to catch my attention. And I admonish our broadcast students that the audio-both words and ambient sound-are not afterthoughts to their reports. In fact, much TV news video is little more than wallpaper to accompany the sound.
But the way Mike Deaver set the scene was masterful. The light rising over the beach cliffs in Normandy caught the glint in Reagan's eye at a World War II commemoration. The Brandenburg Gate was framed behind the president in Berlin when he declaimed, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." The balloons cascaded from the rafters in just the right pattern to frame Reagan's buoyancy at Republican conventions.
Deaver was not always successful. The pictures of Reagan visiting a military cemetery at Bitburg, Germany, haunted the White House when it became apparent that Nazi SS troopers were among the German soldiers buried there. 
Deaver's own photo on the cover of a 1986 issue of Time presaged his downfall. Time's headline: "Who's This Man Calling? Influence Peddling in Washington." 
Now Deaver has shaped one last scenario-a conundrum for the dean of a college of mass communications. This weekend we welcomed hundreds of new students at our freshman convocation. And Mike, in absentia, and I were recast in our old roles from White House days where a certain tension between the press and the presidency was a democratic essential.
As a PR guy, I suggested, Mike would have told our public relations students to show their clients in the best possible light. I told the journalism students that it is their responsibility not to be blinded by the light.
Charles Bierbauer
West Columbia, SC
Charles Bierbauer was CNN's Senior White House Correspondent covering the Reagan administration. 

Protecting our Children from Predators
Nearly every day, we read a newspaper story or see a TV report about child predators who go online in search of young prey. The social networking site, MySpace, recently took down the profiles of more than 29,000 sex offenders who had registered on their site. According to a new study, 1 in 5 children receive a sexual solicitation within the first year they use the Internet. 
The increased interaction of young people in cyberspace is a new problem that MySpace and similar Web sites can't solve on their own. A real solution to this challenge requires parental common sense along with new legislation to provide law enforcement with the tools they need to bust these criminals. I am working to advance that legislation. 
Before adjourning for August recess, the U.S. Senate held a hearing on protecting our sons and daughters when they're surfing the web. One of the witnesses was the reigning Miss America, Lauren Nelson, who's made Internet safety her platform issue. She told the committee, "When I was 13, my friends and I made the bad decision to share personal information on the Internet with someone we later learned was a sexual predator ... We told our parents about what we had done, and the situation was defused without incident. Unfortunately ... not all stories dealing with the potential dangers of the Internet end without serious incident." 
Miss America stated that education is one of the best weapons we can use against the predators. She is right. The days of locking our doors to keep predators away from our children are gone. At a time when kids can access the Internet at any time and from a variety of places, including cell phones, parents need to be active in informing their children about online dangers. 
Our local schools can also play a positive role. Last year, Virginia became the first state in the country to require Internet safety to be integrated into the public school curriculum. This is an excellent idea that should be adopted in Texas, and elsewhere. 
While education is essential, we also need to give our law enforcement officials the resources they need to catch online criminals, and to prevent the crime from even happening, wherever possible. 
I've seen first-hand how parents, law enforcement officials, and elected leaders can work together in a positive way to protect our kids. In 2003, I introduced a bill to create the National AMBER Alert Network to find abducted children. This legislation built on the success of the original AMBER Alert program, which was founded in North Texasto help local police find missing boys and girls. In the four years since the nationwide network was created, we have returned 336 children to their loving parents. 
Earlier this year, I traveled to Austin to join First Lady Laura Bush and other leaders in announcing the creation of the Texas Regional Office for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. During our visit, we learned how sexual predators are using loopholes in our current legal system to evade law enforcement, and put our children at risk. 
To prevent future sexual crimes from happening, I have cosponsored a landmark bill called Keeping the Internet Devoid of Sexual Predators Act of 2007. This legislation will require convicted sex offenders to provide their email address, instant message screen names, and other forms of online identity to the National Sex Offender Registry. 
In the past, advocacy groups like the ACLU have opposed efforts to register sexual offenders because of privacy concerns. I respect the right to privacy; however, criminals in general, and sex offenders, in particular, forfeit their privileges, including privacy protections, when they molest the most vulnerable, and innocent, members of our society. I believe that a parent's right to protect his or her children supersedes a sexual predator's right to privacy. 
In the months ahead, I will work hard to pass this measure through the U.S. Senate, and have it signed into law. But no law – no matter how rigorously enforced – is a guarantee of safety. 
As parents, we must remain vigilant in our children's defense. In the battles ahead, knowledge is power. I strongly encourage you to visit the Web site of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at www.missingkids.com . This outstanding organization has excellent tips for moms and dads to keep their kids safe. Through both education and tougher laws, we can make Texas the wholesome place we love to call home. 
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison

Can’t Get Sicko
I asked our local Cinemark theatre if, and when, they were going to show Michael Moore's latest documentary "Sicko". Here was Tinseltown manager W. Shepeard's reply: "I recieved your e-mail today and I would like to respond. 
At the present time we are not showing SICKO because the distributer pulled all
the prints except certain theatres. I am not sure if they will lift this or not, but you are certainly welcome to check back later. 
Also, we did play Fahrenheit 911 for about 3 weeks. It did play later, but only
because there were very few prints available on the opening release. It did not
do well so it was pulled."
Here is the reply I sent the manager:" I saw Fahrenheit 911 at your theater. It was put in the smallest theater and there was a police officer who stood in the aisle during the film and scanned the audience as if he were looking for criminals. I have been to your cinema dozens of times and have never seen this type of behavior before. I think your corporate bosses don't want to play Moore's movies because The Woodlands is a conservative bastion for the GOP. 911 won the most prestigious award at Cannes Film Festival. I have no doubt that if the movie was favorable to george bush your theater would have put it on 3 screens in IMAX. I suspect the same with "Sicko". How else do you explain your theater not showing critically acclaimed films in one of the most upscale towns in the U.S.? AMC has several cinemas in town that are showing the film. What's wrong with Tinseltown that they can't seem to get a copy?"
Either the manager is lying and the owners of Cinemark are too scared to show this film in The Woodlands, or Cinemark is depriving it's patrons of critically acclaimed films because they don't have the clout to get copies. It is no wonder that I do not frequent Cinemark's theaters anymore.
Richard Amburgey
Spring, Texas

Tobacco Kills 450,000 Per Year
I’ve been honored to have about 400 newspaper publications within the last 24 months all over the world promoting health while demoting tobacco. 
With intensity, I scan many opinions online everyday. In all this scanning I’ve never read a submitted opinion by a regional director for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Now, in the last few week these silent regional directors are coming out of their closets with their slanted Bush Administration political opinion against the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), that was just passed by the U.S. Senate. 
The funding for expanding this medical coverage for children will be coming from a federal tax increase on tobacco. Amazing that the recent headline read that “Smoking declines as taxes increase.” (http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-08-09-1Alede_N.htm) Isn’t this what the U.S. DHHS should be all about, instead of what kid is covered by SCHIP?
When will these regional directors explain why President Bush continues to omit ”tobacco” out of his State of the Union Addresses when tobacco slowly slays 450,000 Americans every year. The recent testimony of the ex-U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona, when he testified that this Bush Administration placed politics over science and health may explain why this administration is so tobacco-less.
I was left fatherless by tobacco at age 11, with three other siblings under the age of 18, and we had no medical or dental insurance. 
Was it fair for the Veteran’s Administration to sponsor our college education with your taxpayers dollars, when my poor Staff Sgt. dad with emphysema was legally killed by tobacco not a WWII bullet or bomb?
Shouldn’t BBT with its lucrative profits pay for the college or vocational school of the kids of its victims regardless if rich or poor? 
Mike Sawyer
Birmingham, Alabama

Bush’s War Versus Border Security
David Sirota of www.workingassetsblog. com has an interesting theory on why the Democrats aren't making progress in bringing the troops home. He says their stand-alone legislative strategy doesn't force Republicans to make a choice between loyalty to Bush's war and loyalty to their Conservative base..
The least offensive Republican proposal from a racist/xenophobic perspective has been to beef up border security. Sirota says bring up a bill mandating all National Guardsmen be redeployed from Iraq to guard our own borders. The thought of pugnaciously threatening our neighbors should warm the coronary cockles of the militant illegal-immigration-obsessed Tom Tancredo wing of the GOP, which also is the most radical pro-war wing. They would be forced to choose either The War or beefed up border security. And maybe the bill should require some redeployment to fight forest fires in red states. Even Kevin Brady might not vote against it 
I like sticking it to the GOP but using a recent report in the Houston Chronicle would make it resound even louder. Since our occupation of Afghanistan, the opium/heroin production in that country has mushroomed from 20 percent of the world market to near 100 percent. Now our brilliant leaders in Washington are considering taking all American troops off the line to eradicate opium crops and teach the peasants another method of subsistence farming. 
This is strangely reminiscent of “Plan Colombia,” the 5 year, $4 billion fiasco designed to discourage Colombian peasants from growing coca. Instead, cocaine production surged 36 percent from 2000 to 2005, cocaine on our streets is so plentiful it's price is at an all time low and use by high school children has shown dramatic increases. (Americas.irc-online.org) 
What say we bring all the troops home from Iraq, protect our own borders and fight the terrorists in Afghanistan?
Let Tancredo argue with that! 
Bill Barnes 
Conroe, TX 

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