Fox 26 aired a piece by Greg Groogan about a”rumor” that Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo was going to resign. Needless to say it was a baseless rumor started by an undisclosed individual. Usually TV station management would refuse to air a story based upon baseless rumors. If not any idiot journalist would have a great story every single day.
Groogan has a history of pissing on a campfire. He seems to enjoy it. Maybe someone ought to air a story based upon baseless rumors from a very reputable source: Fox 26 will fire Greg Groogan for his story about a baseless rumor. How is that for journalism? Maybe I can take over for Greg.
This is getting real. Clear Lake is currently under Stage One according to the Clear Lake City Water Authority. You can review their suggestions on watering your lawn here, including “Forget about watering streets, sidewalks, and driveways. They will never grow a thing.” Got to love their humor!
The City of Houston will enter Stage Two on Sunday Aug 27 requiring homeowners to water only on certain days depending on their address. From Alcorn’s newsletter:
During Stage Two, outdoor water use is only allowed between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. with the following schedule:
Sundays and Thursdays for single-family residential customers with even-numbered street addresses
Saturdays and Wednesdays for single-family residential customers with odd-numbered street addresses
Overall. We flew into Buffalo NY, toured the American and Canadian side of the Falls. Most of the views were at no charge! My suggestion is to take a day and walk the American side of the falls in the State Park then another day on the Canadian side. Wear walking shoes and possibly a change of socks and shoes if you intend to get wet. Lots of walking but they also have a shuttle for the park.
American side. You will get fantastic and up close views of the American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls. You can also take a tour of the Cave of the Winds (extra cost) which isn’t a cave but a long staircase to the bottom of the falls. You will get soaked but they give you a poncho.
Canadian Side. There are a number of sites that provide beautiful up close views of Horseshoe Falls. You can also see the American Falls from this side. Be prepared to show your passport when entering Canada. Most of all the sites are free of charge.
Must See. Take the time to go on the Maid of the Mist tour. It is a boat that goes right up to the falls. You will most probably get wet but they provide a poncho. It is a great tour and well worth the admission!
Also go up the Skylon Tower for a great view of the falls. I thought this view was very well worth the admission cost. Don’t miss it.
Another tour is the power plant. Spend the extra money to get a guided tour. It’s pretty interesting.
Skip it. Do yourself a favor and skip the Journey Behind the Falls. It’s nothing but a long line to get in, a long line to get out, and another long line to see two “portals”. It’s not like you are walking behind the falls. It’s only a couple of tunnels that end in a wall of water. It’s pretty unimpressive. Another portal shows you a tunnel that was made many years ago. It is interesting but you can’t walk into it. There is an outside area that is right next to the falls but if you take the boat tour you get the same and better view. I really wasn’t impressed.
Hotels. If you really have to have a view of the falls from your hotel you will be paying a premium for it. We stayed at the Oakes Overlooking the Falls but left after 1 night. Yes the view was nice but the hotel wasn’t what we expected. Real disappointed. I suggest finding a place away from the tourist trap area.
View from the hotelView from the towerPower PlantTunnel to the Power PlantMaid of the Mist tourThat’s the “portal”Long wait linesThe old tunnel
Greg Abbott has some balls to be claiming Texas is not for sale.
Abbott has sold Texas to the highest bidder for decades. Who do you think runs the state? Who do you think bankrolls republican candidates across the state even candidates against Greg Abbott?
I’ll give you a hint, Texas oligarchs and their PACs. There is the PAC, Defend Texas Liberty, who has pumped millions into races including $10,000 into our local CCISD races. Two Texas billionaire oligarchs funded this PAC, Farris Wilks and Timothy Dunn. They donated nearly $12 million in just 3 years to their PAC. It is an unlimited source of money as documented by CNN.
There are the Weekley brothers, David and Richard, homebuilders and developers. They own Greg Abbott’s ass. They donated $28 Million over the last decade. There are PAC’s like Texans for Lawsuit Reform that has raised millions to fund candidates that would, and have, weakened our civil justice system. There are Home Insurance PACs, funded by the insurance industry, claiming to be advocating for the homeowner. LOL.
These PACs are responsible for our sagging education system, high insurance, electricity, and college costs, our out of control health care costs. But don’t trust me, just look at your damn bills. So spare me with your stupid bullshit Abbott and Fox News. Texas has been sold already. Bought and paid for. How about focusing on that instead the pissant donation by George Soros?
But….Soros has single handedly funded a PAC called Texas Majority with a $750,000 donation, a small drop in the bucket compared to the millions donated by Texas oligarchs. In their last report TM has spent about $650,000 on consultants, travel, salaries, and polling. I’ve listed their contributions and expenditures below. Soros has been known to fund candidates in deep blue areas with far left candidates and after losing his money dries up. I would keep an eye out for this PAC.
Back in May Former Harris County Dept of Education Trustee, Eric Dick, filed a new Treasurer appointment to run for the Board again. Dick served on the Board then he decided to run for Houston City Council in 2019. He lost that race but not before generating a boat load of controversy. The headline from the Houston Chronicle says it all: “Houston Republican fined $30K for mailers suggesting Black Democrats endorsed him“.
He was not only fined $30,000 but the Ethics Commission referred him to the Texas Bar. I’m not sure what they would do with this but I doubt it would be a Rudy Giuliani outcome.
So today Dick has filed a “Designation of final report” which, according to the Texas Ethics Commission, terminates his newly appointed treasurer and relieves him of the duty to file any more reports. I am just assuming Dick has pulled out of the race. His final report show no money raised or spent during the short period.
I guess if he can find another Treasurer he can refile. Who knows?
Senator Middleton is using his wealth to finance campaigns across Texas, hand picking extreme right wing candidates and providing them with funding. His biggest contribution, according to the Texas Ethics Committee, is to himself. Since 2015 Middleton self financed his campaigns for State House and Senate to the tune of $5.7 Million.
Middleton has donated over $9 million to candidates and extreme right wing organizations with over 60% going to his own campaigns. Some of his biggest donations include $300,000 to Louie Gohmert who unsuccessfully ran for Texas Attorney General against Ken Paxton in the Republican Primary. He donated over $60,000 to Galveston’s State Representative Terri Wilson. Wilson raised over 87% of her entire campaign donations from out of district PACs and individuals. He donated a few thousand dollars to the leader of conservative values, State Representative Tony Tinderholt, who has been married 5 times. He donated $186,000 to Carrie Isaac of Dripping Springs.
It’s almost funny. Homeowners can voice their opinion at the TWIA meeting July 11 in person or via Zoom. More information is here.
So…back in 2003 I was a consumer advocate and watched as Rick Perry and the Republican Party reformed the home insurance industry. Here is what Perry said after his industry friendly bill passed:
“This comprehensive reform measure will stabilize the home and auto insurance market, rid the insurance industry of fraudulent practices and ensure Texans have access to fair rates offered in a competitive market,”
LOL. How did that work fer ya? Actually not so well. Home insurance rates have since skyrocketed even prior to the post COVID inflationary period. TWIA (Texas Windstorm Insurance Association) has jumped on the opportunity to raise premiums by 20-25%. According to TWIA:
The Rate Adequacy Analysis indicates that TWIA’s current rates are inadequate by 20 percent for residential coverage and 22 percent for commercial coverage.
TWIA was created back in 1971 after Hurricane Celia and was to be the insurance policy of last resort for owners who could not find coverage. At the time insurance companies were removing wind storm protection from their policies. TWIA was created to respond to the situation and was doing just fine until 2003 when insurance reform kicked in. According to the graph provided by TWIA the number of structures covered by TWIA skyrocketed after 2003.
And the rest is history. Luckily our own State Representative Dennis Paul is on the House Committee on Insurance. I am sure he is working hard for those soon to be affected by the TWIA increase. As I said, it’s almost funny.
I was a Karen this week. (My apologies to those named Karen) As a former consumer activist it really grinds my gears when someone tries to wiggle out of taking responsibility for their actions, but acting like a Karen wasn’t the best thing to do.
So, here is the story. I took my Subaru to Clear Lake Subaru. They replaced my transmission under an extended warranty. A while later I took it back in because it felt like it was “slipping”. So they replaced the new transmission with a rebuilt one. A while later I returned, again with the same problem. Turns out it wasn’t the transmission after all. It was an ignition coil. They wanted $600 to fix it. I bought the part of $100, watched a YouTube video on how to fix it, and completed the job in 5 minutes. Needless to say I wasn’t very thrilled, but my car was working just fine. Until….
The transmission pan gasket was leaking. That was why I took it back to Subaru. I should have known better. I sat in the waiting room for 2 hours. I enquired about the status after an hour, then again after 2. The second time I got their attention and they confirmed it was the seal on the transmission that they put it that was the problem. They wanted me to pay $550 to repair it.
Really. Needless to say I tried to explain and remind them of what the had done in the past including misdiagnosing the problem and replacing my new transmission with a rebuilt one. Now, to their credit, they offered to “research” the issue and try to have it replaced but the Karen in me was not happy with that offer and I told them so in many different ways.
So I have contacted Subaru of America, explained the situation, including me acting like a Karen, and asked for help. $550 to replace a gasket on a new transmission is insane. The gasket is a $10 part. Let’s see if Subaru comes through.
While you have been clutching your guns your rights to the 7th amendment of the Constitution has been taken away.
Texans for Lawsuit Reform filed their first Ethics Commission report back in 2000. I remember their lobbyists at the Texas Capitol from my years as a consumer advocate. They claim to advocate on behalf of Texans but the money they raise paint a very different picture.
Mandatory Binding Arbitration The 7th Amendment of the Constitution states “In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved…..” In short, we have (had) a right to a civil trial for consumer issues such as a faulty foundation in your new home, or cell phone contracts, or buying a new or used car. Giving up your Constitutional rights isn’t an option in Texas. It’s called “Mandatory” for a reason. You have no choice and if you think it is “faster, cheaper, better” you are just ignorant, as most consumers are.
Protecting the bad doctors TLR also advocated for changing the Texas Constitution to allow for limits on medical malpractice. At the time they said it would lower our health insurance bills and protect doctors from malpractice suits. So take a look at your healthcare bills and tell me how that worked out fer ya. (Hint. It didn’t) As expected nothing has changed. Texas ranks #1 in the uninsured, #45 in health care access, and #38 in overall health care. Luckily most Texans will never need the help of a Texas trial lawyer when it comes to medical malpractice, but when you do….god help you.
TLR Donors So who has wiped out your safety nets? Since 2000 TLR has raised over $109 Million. $153,000 or .13% (not 13% .13%) was raised from the everyday, common, ignorant, citizen who donated $100 or less thinking they were helping. $90 Million or 83% came from donors who gave from $20,000 to $5,000,000. $48.5 Million or 44% came from just 18 individuals. It gives you an idea of who TLR really represents. In 2020 there was a significant increase in donations corresponding to the 2020 elections.
Here are the top donors:
Name
Amount
Jan Duncan
$7,300,000
Retired
Richard Weekley
$6,300,000
Homebuilder
Ross Perot
$4,700,000
Developer
Robert McNair
$4,500,000
Texans Owner
Bob Perry
$3,100,000
Homebuilder
Jeffery Hildebrand
$2,800,000
Energy
Harlan Crow
$2,500,000
Investor
Harold Simmons
$2,400,000
Financial Planning
Joe Walter
$2,300,000
Oil & Gas
David Weekley
$2,100,000
Homebuilder
Anthony Annunziato
$1,600,000
Commodity Trading
W Bosarge
$1,500,000
Consulting
Boone Pickens
$1,300,000
Investments
Kenney Troutt
$1,200,000
Investments
Alan Hassenflu
$1,700,000
Real Estate
Jay Adair
$1,100,000
Auto Parts
Javiad Anwar
$1,000,000
Energy
Russell Gordy
$1,000,000
Oil & Gas
$48,400,000
And if you are interested in graphs:
So you better go clutch that gun a bit tighter because that is all you have at this point.
Find a free rental coupon for Redbox. Rent the 65 movie. Give the movie to your neighbors. When they are busy watching and wondering why in the living hell you gave them this piece of crap, steal their lawnmower. At least you will get a lawnmower for your efforts.
It was just that bad. It’s so bad it makes me cringe to have to remember the memorable parts to write about them. I just can’t. Gosh that was a waste of $5.99 and 90 minutes of my life. I could have watch Boston get their asses handed to them at home sending Miami to the NBA finals.
Posted by johncoby 
Bay Area Houston 