Thank you Bay Area Democratic Movement!

September 6, 2023

I’ve been on the Board of Bay Area Democratic Movement for 6 years. It’s been a pleasure!

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Posted by johncoby

Texas Trump Republicans will let Paxton off the hook

September 5, 2023

Count on it.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial starts today. The trial will be televised and all Texans will have the opportunity to see the evidence against Paxton but they won’t. Most don’t care. Neither do the Republicans in the Senate.

If you haven’t been paying attention, their leader, Donald Trump, attempted to black mail the leader of Ukraine. Then he instigated a riot on the United States Capitol. He was impeached twice yet the republicans let him off the hook. Twice. If you think Texas Republicans in the Senate is going to vote to remove Paxton you really haven’t been paying attention.

This isn’t a criminal trial, that will come later. This is a trial to determine if Paxton is honorable enough to hold the office of top attorney. “Honorable” means nothing to republicans. Absolutely nothing. Evidence that will be provided will show Paxton had an affair and shared privileged information with a friend, Nate Paul, who moved his mistress to Austin. He hired an unqualified attorney from Houston, a referral from Nate Paul, to investigate a non-profit who was in litigation with Paul. That attorney issued 29 subpoenas and identified himself as a “Special Prosecutor”. Paxton’s staff squashed the subpoenas and ended the contract with the attorney.

The fact that he had an affair, compromised his position as lead attorney, and lied about it to his wife, a fellow Senator, would have been enough for Republicans to throw his rotten ass out the door. But that was prior to Trump. That was when Republicans actually were “conservative”, honorable, and moral.

Today the Republican Party leaders are just a bunch of low life, lying, cheating, stealing, adulterer sympathizer, excuse making, rotten bunch of fucking bastards. They will let Paxton off.

Count on it. You can watch the Republican Party crap itself live on the Senate website.

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Posted by johncoby

Fox 26 Houston airs Rumor Central. Will fire reporter.

September 4, 2023

This isn’t journalism.

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.

Dear Greg. Do better.

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Posted by johncoby

Alexandra Mealer. Whining like Trump over non-existant election fraud

August 31, 2023

In non legal terms, give it a rest Mealer.

Mealer lost her election to Judge Lina Hidalgo by over 18,000 votes. So they had a recount and she still lost. So she sued claiming some voting locations ran out of paper ballots. According to the Houston Chronicles investigation that wasn’t completely true and even if it was she couldn’t make up the difference. So she did what Trump did. She sued.

Now even her attorneys think she is full of shit. And she is. Along with her suit there are over 20 suits filed against judicial candidates claiming the lack of paper ballots skewed the election. The first went to trial last month and it didn’t go very well for the republicans. So Mealer is now claiming that over 32,000 ballots were incorrectly counted. (They weren’t and the Judge dismissed her stupidity)

It’s bullshit. Completely bullshit. Even her former attorneys are calling bullshit. From the Houston Chronicle:

Alvarez criticized Mealer’s decision to add claims about election fraud to her petition, saying that was not part of the deal they made when Mealer hired her firm: “She also specifically told us she did not want to litigate ballot fraud or election fraud, or anything resembling the Trump litigation because it would be embarrassing to her in her professional life.” 

Yeah. She already embarrassed herself by losing after out spending Hidalgo 4 to 1. Give it a rest Mealer.

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Posted by johncoby

More about Texas Majority PAC

August 31, 2023

George Soros’ heart is in the right place but…..

I attended a presentation by the Texas Majority PAC, a newly formed PAC in Texas funded entirely by George Soros (yes, that George Soros). I asked some questions that were never answered and probably for good reasons. TMP claims to have ran the “State wide” campaign in 2022. This isn’t exactly true. The individuals with TMP worked for the Beto for Governor campaign. They ran his state wide race and not the campaigns for other state wide candidates. TMP also had/has nothing to do with the Texas Democratic Party.

So with this in mind I am cautious about their motives. As stated earlier TMP raised $850,000 all from the Democracy PAC II, a PAC funded solely by George Soros with $175 Million. They have spent over $600,000 mostly on consulting and polling. They claim they are performing research on what it will take to win a state wide race. You can’t fault anyone for this type of activity. Texas has become the most white wing, racist, extremist state in the US. We need all the help we can get.

I’m hoping that this organization doesn’t turn out being just another arm of the Socialist movement running “Democratic Socialists” in the Democratic Party looking for easy pick offs in deep blue areas like Austin. (Socialists have already won in Travis County) It’s disturbing to read that the leader of TMP worked on campaigns to “defund the police” among other issues. Not one Democrat supports this stupidity. Not one. Listing this on your resume will make bloggers think twice about your organization.

On one hand you have to thank Soros for paying attention and paying the salaries of those who are helping Texas right itself (or un-right). On the other you have to be careful of who they will be funding.

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Posted by johncoby

Who the f*ck is Vivek Ramaswamy?

August 31, 2023

He is a very dangerous individual.

Vivek Rmaswamy is running for President in the Republican Party. He is a perfect candidate to represent those who continue to associate with the party. He is a liar. He is politically ignorant. He is politically dangerous. He is a conspiracy theorist. He is ignorant of foreign policy. He is a white supremacist sympathizer. He is a fast talking loud mouth. He is a hypocrite. He is a perfect republican. He is Donald Trump Part II, only worse.

Besides that according to Wikipedia Ramaswamy is:

  • He is a NRA nut
  • He is an Indian Hindu
  • Raised in Ohio
  • Graduated from Harvard
  • Graduated from Yale Law School
  • Founder of Campus Ventures Network
  • Libertarian
  • (LOL) received a fellowship from the Soros Fellowship for New Americans
  • Would support Trump even if convicted for multiple felonies by a jury
  • Called the LGBTQ movement a cult
  • Would fire 75% of all government employees and dismantle all civil service protections
  • Would abolish the Dept of Education, FBI, IRS, and the FDA
  • Raise the voting age to 25
  • Would abolish Juneteenth holiday
  • Would defund Ukraine support
  • Denies climate change, claims it is a hoax
  • He is a vegetarian

He is worse than Trump but talks in a way that an idiot can understand him, which is the Republican base.

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Posted by johncoby

Bringing the hate to the state. Republican National Cult comes to Houston

August 28, 2023

Houston won the Republican National Cult Convention in 2028 and we all will be losers for it.

Every white supremacist, every racist, every white wing extremist, gun toting, truck driving, MAGAt and those who tolerate or support them will be in Houston for the 2028 Republican Convention. Elected officials of the Texas Republican Party must be giddy to have their hate for Black, Mexicans, Jews, Muslims, teachers, police, Gays, Asian Americans, and others on full display in one of the most diverse cities in the country.

Hate will be on display in Houston for a full week bringing millions of dollars to vendors working hard to stuff the racists with food, drinks, and pleasure. Hate will be on display with the appearance of the leaders of their hatred, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Greg Abbott, Ted Cruz, Jim Jordon, Matt Gaetz, and others. The RNC will not be hiding their hate, they will be promoting their hate. It sells. It motivates. It is who they are.

According to the Houston Chronicle:

“As the nation’s most diverse and inclusive city, we believe Houston represents the future of the United States, and our aspirations for the country,” said Michael Heckman, the president and CEO of Houston First Corp., the city’s convention arm. “We’re excited to show off these attributes and our hospitality. We do it every day, and we look forward to doing it again in 2028.”

Yes, we are diverse and inclusive. I guess that means we have to include the racist cult of the RNC.

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Posted by johncoby

Freak Show Part II. Tony Buzbee is running for Houston City Council

August 22, 2023

As Tony Buzbee said, he fights with both hands, drinks with both hands and will beat off his opponents in District G with both hands.

OMG. Just what we need in the race for District G, a damn freak show. Again. Four years ago Buzbee spent $13 Million of his own money in a race for Mayor. He ended in a runoff with Mayor Turner then got wiped out and went into political hiding for 4 years popping up for air to defend Ken Paxton in his impeachment trial.

According to the Houston Chronicle Buzbee was escorted through city hall by former Council Member Greg Travis. Who is Greg Travis? Glad you asked…..Travis resigned from city council to run for State Representative. He lost. He also resigned from all his committee assignments leaving the hard work to his colleagues. He also made racist comments about Michelle Obama with many calling for his resignation. That is who Tony Buzbee has sided with.

During his race for Mayor Buzbee attempted to play both sides of the political aisle, donating $90,000 to the Harris County Democratic Party, donating to the Gay Caucus, hosting a fundraiser for Donald Trump at his home, and seeking the endorsement from Steven Hotze an anti-gay hate monger. It didn’t work. He was boo-ed out of the room at the Democratic Executive Committee meeting and Hotze eventually pulled his endorsement. Even the Harris County Republican Party refused to endorse Buzbee.

Buzbee received the endorsement from the Houston Fire Fighters in the runoff. The Fire Fighters had previously endorsed Dwight Boykins as well as Anthony Dolcefino, one of the worst candidates to have run for city council. Buzbee was in good company.

Buzbee will probably spend another couple of million of his own money against current incumbent Mary Nan Huffman. Huffman has $100,000 cash on hand.

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Posted by johncoby

Galveston County Commissioner Joe Giusti, Oath Keepers, on the hot seat

August 20, 2023

They are not even trying to hide it anymore.

Galveston County is being sued by a number of organizations for redrawing maps in 2021 that dismantled a minority district and created 4 majority white districts. Commissioner Joe Giusti was on the hot seat and testified that he knew his vote would eliminate the minority district. According the Galveston Daily News:

A Galveston County Commissioner testified Thursday he knew his vote for a redistricting map would eliminate the county’s sole majority-minority precinct.

“I was aware that voting for the map would eliminate the majority-minority district,” Precinct 2 Commissioner Joe Giusti said.

I’ve looked at Giusti’s campaign finance reports and they are interesting. I’ll publish that later. Many of these commissioners across the state are in pretty safe districts. They tend to be re-elected over and over again and they tend to think they are safe from having to follow the laws. Case in point, long term Commission Jerry Eversole in Harris County was fined $75,000 by the Texas Ethics Commission for stealing his donors money. He thought no one was looking until someone did and filed a complaint.

Back to Giusti. Giusti was found to be a member of The Oath Keepers by The Texas Tribune. The lead was recently convicted of seditious conspiracy and was sentenced to 18 years in jail for his role in the Jan 6 riot. The Oath Keepers was incorporated in 2009. Giusti claimed he was only in the group for a year but his campaign literature says something different. And now after claiming to have dumped his association with this extreme far right organization he is testifying about voting to end a minority district in Galveston County.

According to his literature he is a conservative, a gun nut, a husband, and a member of The Oath Keepers. #NoPlaceButTexas. Literally. They walk amongst us.

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Posted by johncoby

City of Houston to host right wing hate group convention

August 19, 2023

The power of money.

Houston City Council has approved agreement to support Houston’s bid to host the 2028 Republican National Convention despite members voicing concerns over Republican policy priorities. Houston is competing with Nashville and Miami and could bring millions of dollars in tax revenues.

The RNC has a history of supporting hate groups such as the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Moms for Liberty, and others. Over the last 8 years they have attacked the Gay community, have put our police in harms way by flooding the streets with guns. They have attacked Mexican Americans, Black, Asian Americans, teachers, Muslims, Jews, and almost every minority you can think of. This is who the Republican Party has become. The Republican Party is nothing but a bunch of hateful, fucked up, people.

Abbott with Proud Boys leader

Council Member Gallegos and District C Councilmember Abbie Kamin, were no votes on the agreement. According to the Houston Chronicle: “District I Councilmember Robert Gallegos was the only one who voted no to the Wednesday agreement, citing some Republican leaders’ policy stances and rhetoric on immigration, LGBTQ rights, abortion and election rules.”

“Any organization has the right to enjoy all that our city has to offer, and they should,” Kamin said in a statement. “But (I) cannot in good conscience support (the agreement) when large numbers of District C residents are being impacted by the explicit bigotry that’s been embraced by a small but loud faction” of the Republican Party.”

But the RNC brings money. And hookers. And hate. And tiki Torches.

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Posted by johncoby

CliffsNotes: Trump’s Georgia Indictment

August 16, 2023

I took another one for the team and read the entire 98 page indictment from the Fulton County DA. This is incomplete but I’ll update later.

This indictment is divided into 

  • 161 separate “Acts” which I believe is simply a list of evidence of a crime concerning the violation of the RICO Act, 
  • A section title Manner and Methods of the Enterprise, a fancy way of saying how the 19 indicted carried out their coordinated conspiracy, 
  • A list of 41 “Counts” which are specific charges against each of the 19 indicted.

So…who was indicted? (19 total)

  • Trump former president
  • Giulliani Trump’s attorney
  • John Eastman Trump’s attorney
  • Mark Meadows Trump’s chief of staff
  • Kenneth Chesebro Trump’s attorney
  • Jeffery Clark Anti-Environment lawyer
  • Jenna Ellis Trump’s attorney
  • Ray Stallings Smith Trump’s attorney
  • Robert Cheeley Georgia Lawyer
  • Michael Roman Director of Trump election team
  • David Shafer Fake elector
  • Shawn Still Fake elector
  • Stephen Lee Former police officer
  • Harrison Floyd Executive director of Black voices for Trump
  • Trevian Kutti Publicist 
  • Sidney Powell Trump’s attorney
  • Cathleen Latham Fake elector
  • Scott Hall Bail bondsman
  • Misty Hampton Coffee county election official

What charges were filed against Trump? (13 total)

  • RICO Act
  • Solicitation of violaton of oath by a public official
  • Conspiracy to commit inpersonatin a public officer
  • Conspiracy to commit false statements and writings
  • Conspiracy to commit filing false documents
  • Conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree
  • Filing false documents
  • Solicitation of violation of oath by public officer
  • False statements and writings

What charges were filed against everyone else?

Various charges but EVERYONE was charged with VIOLATION OF THE GEORGIA RICO (RACKETEER INFLUENCED AND CORRUPT ORGANIZATIONS) ACT

Who testified against Trump?

  • Republican elected officials
  • Republican members of Trump’s administration

What did the accused specifically do according to the Manner and Methods of the Enterprise?

  1. False Statements to and Solicitation of High Ranking State Officials 
  2. Creation and Distribution of False Electoral College Documents 
  3. Harassment and Intimidation of Fulton Countv Election Worker Rubv Freeman 
  4. Solicitation of High-Ranking United States Department of Justice Officials 
  5. Solicitation of the Vice President of the United States 
  6. Unlawful Breach of Election Equipment in Georgia and Elsewhere 
  7. Obstructive Acts in Furtherance of the Conspiracy and the Cover Up 

INTERESTING NOTES FROM SOME OF THE 161 ACTS:

  • Giuliani left voice recordings to a number of Republican elected officials in various states falsely claiming voter fraud and coercing them to overturn the election in various states
  • Giuliani, Trump’s lawyer made multiple appearances including at the Republican National Committee Headquarters falsely claiming voter fraud.
  • Giuliani made false statements to Speaker of the House in Arizona in an attempt to unlawfully appoint fake electors
  • Giuliani made false statements under oath to the Pennsylvania subcommittee
  • Giuliani made false statements concerning election officials in Fulton county resulting in harassment and threats
  • Powell, Trump’s lawyer made multiple appearances including at the Republican National Committee Headquarters falsely claiming voter fraud.
  • Powell conspired with SullivanStrickler LLC to unlawfully access voting machine equipment in Coffee County
  • Powell instructed SullivanStrickler to illegally obtain data from Dominion Voting Systems equipment
  • Powell illegally took possession of personal voting data and ballots
  • Powell conspired to steal voting data
  • Powell was to be appointed by Trump as “Special Counsel” to investigate voter fraud in Georgia
  • Cathleen Latham, a fake elector, was charged with multiple counts of perjury
  • Robery Cheeley, a Georgia lawyer, was charged wth multiple counts of perjury concerning the fake electors
  • Trump solicited speaker of the Georgia House to call for a special session to put in fake electors
  • The three fake electors impersonated a public officer by falsely holding themselves are the qualified presidential electors. (They weren’t)
  • The three fake electors committed forgery by knowingly making a false document titled “CERTIFICATE OF THE VOTES OF THE 2020 ELECTORS FROM GEORGIA,”
  • The three fake electors signed this document claiming to be the duly elected and qualified electors. They were not.
  • Stephen Lee traveled to the home of Ruby Freeman with intent to influence her testimony.
  • Lee recruited Harrison Floyd , a Black man, because Ruby Freeman was afraid of the white man.

MORE TO  COME!!!

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Posted by johncoby

So much for the “Law and Order” party. Congressman Ron Jackson.

August 15, 2023

Law and order my ass.

Case in point, Congressman Ron Jackson, former White House doctor who was accused by the Department of Defense of “making “sexual and denigrating” comments about a female subordinate, violated the policy on drinking alcohol on a presidential trip and took prescription-strength sleeping medication that prompted worries from his colleagues about his ability to provide proper medical care.”

He is now a Republican Congressman. How fitting. As with the Republican Party he was caught on video being taken down by police. According to the video he is heard threatening law enforcement like a whiny little bitch:

“I’m going to call the governor tomorrow and I’m going to talk to him about this (expletive), because this is (expletive) ridiculous,” Jackson can later be heard telling a state trooper, his voice raised.

According to the Houston Chronicle it got worse as the Sheriff noted:

Shortly after the encounter, Carson County Sheriff Tam Terry talked with Jackson by phone. According to the sheriff’s written report, Jackson repeatedly told Terry that there needed to be consequences for the deputies who had handcuffed him. After Terry responded that he didn’t need to be threatened, Jackson said that “he would pull hell and high water and come and ‘bury me in the next election,’ ” the sheriff wrote.

He is a perfect republican. A hypocritical, whiny little bitch. At least he didn’t whack the police over the head with an American flag.

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Posted by johncoby

Texas Tribune Festival Sept 21-23

August 14, 2023

This ought to be very interesting!

From the Texas Tribune About page:
Venture capitalist John Thornton founded The Texas Tribune and provided its initial $1 million in funding in 2008. Evan Smith joined as co-founder and CEO with Ross Ramsey serving as co-founder and executive editor, and the Tribune launched on election night of 2009. Today, the Tribune is recognized as a leader in digital-first journalism as well as a national role model for sustainability. In 2022, Thornton retired from the board, and Smith and Ramsey retired from the staff. Sonal Shah began as Tribune CEO in January 2023. Smith remains a senior adviser to the Tribune.

The Tribune Festival will be held in Austin and has a slew of interesting speakers as well as a couple of douches including Ted Cruz. Speakers include Katie Couric, James Carville, Karl Rove (yes, Karl Rove), Congressman Colin Alred, Jake Tapper from CNN and many others.

Should be a very interesting weekend. You can find detailed information here.

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Posted by johncoby

Run for something…..you are qualified for

August 10, 2023

Before you file to run for a political office do yourself, your family, and your friends a favor by investigating the office before running for the office. Here are a few tips and questions you might want to consider before signing up. I am sure a political consultant might want to add a few other tips to this list. 

Running for office is not a game. Running for office is not a game. It’s not cute. It is very, very, tough work for the candidate and your volunteers. The position has a direct impact on people’s lives whether it is timely trash collection, providing a safe neighborhood with our police and our fire fighters, or protecting our country from foreign and domestic threats. Don’t cheapen the office by running just for the sake of running and distracting from those who have a clear understanding of what they are doing and are qualified to run.

What qualifications do you bring to the table? Our government allows anyone to put their name on the ballot but some shouldn’t. Ask yourself if you understand the position you are running for. Do you have qualifications or personal experience that would apply to this position? If you are running for County Attorney do you have experience in the legal field? Do you understand the process used to pass legislation, and do you know the players who are behind the scenes? Have you been involved in your community or in the office that you want to represent?

Follow the law. Running for office requires you to follow the laws of the State governing elections such as filing timely financial reports disclosing donations and expenditures. Visit the Texas Ethics Commission website BEFORE you run, not after a complaint has been filed. A complaint could be very costly to you and your treasurer.

It will cost money. Lots of money. Sometimes a shitload of money. A run for a State Representative seat will cost half a million dollars if competitive. This will include requiring money to run a successful campaign to target the needed number of voters to win. If you do not intend to raise the necessary amount of money needed, then do not run, Do the math before you sign. Understand what the campaign will need and how much this will cost and whether you can raise that amount.

How many votes do you need to win? This is a hard question and is never an exact science but you can determine, with analysis of the past elections, an idea of the number of votes needed to push you over the top. This number will drive your campaign strategy and fundraising efforts. If you can’t answer this question then you really shouldn’t run.

How much money will it take to win? The number of votes you need to win will drive your fundraising efforts. As said above, running for office is not a game and it costs money. You will be on the phone for hours a day raising campaign cash in order to achieve that winning number.

Who is your financial base? Who will you be depending upon to achieve your financial goals in order to achieve that winning number of votes? Who will have fundraisers for you? Who are your major go to guys for funds?

Who is your volunteer base? Who will be there to make phone calls for you or block walk in the hot sun? Do you have a base of supporters or do you intend to file and expect your political clubs to drop what they are doing and support you? A campaign will strain your relationships with family and friends. It’s a grueling undertaking requiring a considerable amount of dedication and support. You should have buy in from your family and those you expect to support you before you sign up.

Good luck and thank you for running. Or not.

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Posted by johncoby

If you come after us…..

August 9, 2023

You might get the chair.

The brawl on the deck in Atlanta (see it here) was an unnecessary, ill advised, fight that ended in a bunch of white guys getting their asses kicked, much like the battle of the Alamo. It was a mini race war and it didn’t end well.

In a nutshell a group of white males assaulted a security guard who moved their pontoon boat (that in itself should warrant a beat down) a few feet so a much larger commercial boat could dock. At one time there were 5 guys beating on the guard. But….once the boat docked the 5 white guys confronted a large group exiting the boat who proceeded to open a can of whoop ass including one individual whacking the shit out of a couple of people with a folding chair. (He was rightfully arrested)

It was clearly racially motivated and the pontooners will have to address charges in court. The folding chair has since become a symbol of fighting back against racism. It can’t be tolerated any more. It has to be addressed quickly, but without violence. The Democrats in this country might want to step up their game. The “big tent” party might want to start picking up a folding chair instead of just shooting their mouth off.

We, as a society, cannot tolerate racism, bigotry, intolerance, any longer. The Alabama beatdown should send a clear message to racists and MAGAts. If you come after African Americans, Latinos, Gays, Asian Americans, Women, Muslims, Jews, teachers, police, government employees, Irish, Italians, Germans, or any American, you might get a folding chair upside your head.

Figuratively speaking.

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Posted by johncoby

Dirty tricks in the Houston City Council races

August 7, 2023

Be prepared. Maybe.

I don’t see any candidates in the Mayor, Controller, at Large 1-5 stooping to the level of Eric Dick, candidate for At Large 5 in 2019, in the upcoming elections. Maybe a candidate in District E might dip into unethical campaigning but for the most part dirty tricks probably won’t happen. Here are some examples over the years:

Dirty Tricks. Eric Dick
Eric Dick in 2013 and 2019 sent out mailers that looked as if elected officials had endorsed him. In 2013 Dick had the habit of taking pictures with elected officials then used their pictures in a mailer as if they were supporting him. They weren’t. Then in epic fashion he out did himself sending out mailers to the Black community in the runoff for At Large 5 claiming some organization had endorsed him. You can see the front and back here. In the end, he lost and the Texas Ethics Commission fined him $30,000 and referred him to the Texas Bar.

Dirty Tricks. Dave Wilson
Dave Wilson won a seat on the Houston Community Board beating out a 24 year incumbent. From the Texas Observer:

The anti-gay activist printed mailers for his campaign featuring pictures of African-Americans that said, “Please vote for our friend and neighbor Dave Wilson.” The pictures came from the Internet, Wilson said.

Dave Wilson wasn’t even in the pictures. It said that Ron Wilson, a Black State Representative, asked for voters to vote for Dave Wilson. Ron Wilson was actually Dave Wison’s cousin. In Iowa. Here is the mailer:

Dirty Tricks: Misleading Endorsements
This is hard to prove. There are organizations that seem to be running a “pay to play” endorsement. For a $25,000 donation you too could be listed on their endorsement mailer or magazine. As a possible example Aubrey Taylor of Houston Business Connections has a well designed blog. I don’t believe it is an actual website, just a blog. (like mine but my design sucks) Taylor lists endorsements like the one below. He is listed as a “newspaper” although I have never seen anything in print. Because of this he can receive donations without disclosure. I doubt HBC actually interviewed some of the candidates listed below.

Dirty Tricks: Misleading PACs
In the Democratic primary of 2020 and organization call Fort Bend United run by Shapnick Khan distributed an endorsement brochure titled “Harris County Democratic Voters Guide” (see below). Harris County had nothing to do with this voters guide, by law. Harris County Democratic Party had nothing to do with this, by bylaws. But it sure did look nice, and well written. Their endorsements included absolutely horrible candidates running against Commissioner Adrian Garcia and Judge Lina Hidalgo. Fort Bend United has since filed a campaign finance report showing a $0 COH. The Treasurer, Shapnick Khan also created a PAC called Texas Progressive Executive Council in 2021. He raised no money and it is now listed as “Inactive”

Dirty Tricks: District E
I’m looking forward to seeing what one candidate is going to do since he is self financing and is an extreme partisan candidate running in a non partisan race. To be continued.

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Posted by johncoby

Texas Governor Abbott “Texas is not for sale. Someone bought it already”

August 3, 2023

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.

Contributions
NameAmount
Democracy PAC II$850,000
Others$2,040
Total$852,040
Expenditures
Consulting$356,763
Polling$108,574
Overhead$47,239
Fundraising$32,053
Travel$30,397
Other$15,524
Legal$6,377
Food$585
Fees$573
Total$601,216

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Posted by johncoby

CliffsNotes: Trump’s Jan 6 Indictment

August 2, 2023

I took one for the team and read the 45 page indictment against Trump. Here are the highlights.

Everyone who testified are Republicans

  • Everyone who told Trump he lost including his staff, his cabinet members, the AG, the State Secretary of States, State Legislators are all republicans. Every. Single. One. Of. Them.
  • Trump knew he lost. Over and over again he was told he had lost. There was no election fraud. He even admitted it.
  • Pence, Senior leaders of the Justice Department, the Director of National Intelligence, The Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure, Senior White House Attorneys, Senior staffers on the 2020 re-election campaign, State Legislators and officials from 7 states (all republicans), State and Federal Courts, all told Trump there was no election fraud.
  • Everyone in the indictment that testified against Trump are republicans. Every. Single. One. Of. Them.
  • Co-Conspirator #1 is Rudy Giuliani. Co-Conspirator #2 is former Trump lawyer John Eastman, Co-Conspirator #3 is former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, Co-Conspirator #4 is Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark. Co-Conspirator #5 is pro-Trump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro. Co-Conspirator #6 is unknown. None have been indicted. Yet.

No Election Fraud Found

  • Trump claimed 10,000 dead people voted in Georgia. Republican Secretary of State testified this was false.
  • Trump claimed there were 205,000 more votes than voters in Pennsylvania. Trump’s AG and Deputy AG testified that this was false.
  • Trump claimed there was a suspicious dump of 105,000 votes in Michigan. The AG, Speaker of the house, Majority leader of the Senate testified this was false. (all republicans)
  • Trump claimed there was tens of thousands of double votes in Nevada. The SOS testified this was not true as did the Nevada Supreme Court.
  • Trump claimed that 30,000 non-citizens voted in Arizona. Trump’s campaign manager and the Speaker of the House testified this was not true.Trump claimed that the voting machines in various states were hacked. His AG, Acting AG, Deputy AG, all testified this was not true.
  • Trump paid for a recount in Wisconsin which resulted in more votes for Biden. Trump claimed there were more votes than voters. The AG testified that was not true. The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled against Trump.

Fake Electors

  • Trump and his co-conspirators developed a “fake elector” scheme to marshal individuals who would have served as the Defendant’s electors, only if he was successful in flipping the state in seven targeted states Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania,and Wisconsin.
  • This turned out not to be true. The fake electors were to be submitted only to create a fake conspiracy and stop the certification.
  • State officials were enlisted to provide access the fake electors access to the State Capitols.
  • These lists of fake electors were provided to the Senate with help from the Chair of the Republican National Committee.

Illegally Leveraging the Justice System

  • Trump wanted to replace the Acting AG with Co-Conspirator #4, Jeffery Clark, and environmental attorney with no experience with criminal law in order for Clark to stop the certification.
  • Clark issue a letter to the Acting AG, Deputy AG, demanding they sign it falsely claiming the DOJ had found significant election fraud claims. They refused.
  • If Trump had replaced the Acting AG with Clark, he would have sent the letter to the States causing the certification to be stopped.
  • On Jan 3 Clark informed the Acting AG that he was accepting the position. The Acting AG
  • Trump met with Conspirator 4,the Acting Attorney General,the Acting Deputy Attorney General,theJustice Department’s Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel, the White House Counsel,a Deputy White House Counsel, and a Senior Advisor expressing his plan to replace the Acting AG with Clark.
  • Trump was advised it would lead to mass resignations of the Justice Department and his own White House Counsel. Trump relented.

Screwing over Pence

  • Trump on multiple times told Pence to use his ceremonial powers to overturn the election.
  • Pence on multiple times told Trump he did not have the power to do that.
  • On Jan 6 Trump falsley claimed at his rally that Pence refused to follow the law. He turned their anger towards Pence

This is some really fucked up shit folks. You can take an hour of your own time to read the entire indictment here. https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/trump-jan-6-indictment-2020-election/1f1c76972b25c802/full.pdf

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Posted by johncoby

Myth Busting: Texas health care system is the best

August 1, 2023

We do things bigger in Texas. We have bigger liars.

How many damn times do you hear elected officials say “We have the best health care system in the world”? Well guess what? We don’t. In fact we suck.

According to the Austin Statesman Texas ranks #45 in health care services. There were many factors including in this ranking including cost of premiums, % of insured Texans, and number of doctors. For you newbies in the State, Texas passed major tort reform putting limits on lawsuits against doctors and hospitals promising lower health care cost and lower insurance premiums. Guess what? It didn’t work.

But it gets worse. Over the last 20 years Texas used to be the best State to do business. And now it’s a lousy State to live in. In fact Texas has dropped to #7 for business and #1 in the worst state to live in. This ranking included health care, inclusion, and workers protections. So our health care system ranks 45th, we hate the gay community, Blacks, Mexicans, Muslims, non-christians. We love unlimited access to guns. Our public school system is one of the worst funded in the country. It’s harder to vote in Texas than in Iraq. We have the most corrupt government in the United States. And we won’t even let workers take breaks during the heat of the day. Yeah Texas!

But it gets worse. Most Texans don’t care. They almost enjoy being deceived and charged out the ass for everything from electricity to healthcare. As I said in “Texas by the Numbers”:

After 20 years of republican rule in Texas with 8 years as Governor, here is Abbott’s record:

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Posted by johncoby

Raising Campaign Cash: Harris County District Attorney Candidates

July 31, 2023

It’s a bit early but candidates for Harris County District Attorney have filed campaign finance reports.

Incumbent DA, Kim Ogg, raised $55,695, spent $28,571, has an outstanding loan of $48,489 and has $274,748 Cash on Hand. Nothing unusual about her report.

Her opponent in the Democratic primary, Sean Teare, raised $748,317, spent $102,192, no outstanding loans, and has $608,269 Cash on Hand. There are two major donations to Teare, one from Laura Turek for $100,000 and $500,000 from Scott Freeman. Without these donations he raised $148,317.

Harris County has no restrictions on the amount that can be donated to a candidate. I expect Mattress MAGAt Mac to pour a few millions into a republican candidate but that candidate has not filed a treasurer appointment yet.

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Posted by johncoby

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