Senate Bill 763, filed by our own State Senator “Money” Mayes Middleton, will require CCISD to vote on allowing chaplains to provide counseling services to students. The analysis of this bill says the cost of these chaplains, to help the guidance counselors, will be paid with funds allocated for school safety.
So instead of tackling the real source of the problem concerning school safety, they are going to put a volunteer, unemployed, chaplain that can provide spiritual guidance even though they have no training in guidance counseling or any degree that is not based upon a book of fables. What could possibly go wrong?
The vote must come within 6 months of when the bill will take effect, September 1, 2023. The ACLU has filed suit to stop this stupidity. BTW every common sense gun bill failed including restricting the open carry of assault weapons at protests, parades, and outdoor gatherings. Raising the age to 21 from 18 to purchase a military assault weapon also failed as well as closing the gun show loop hole, safe storage of guns, etc etc etc. They all failed yet the easy access to guns is the real source of the problem.
I can’t wait for the first Rabbi, Dalai Lama, or Imam, is assigned to John F. Ward and watch the religious, wingers go nuts. Praise the lord.
As has been said in the past “I consider this issue to be clooooosed!”
Unfortunately Bowen, in typical republican fashion, just can’t stop whining and claiming to be the victim something his buddy, Ted Cruz does very well. Bowen has posted a pre-board meeting response to the vote today claiming to be a victim, and the target of an attack on the Constitution, and blah-blah-blah, poor little me. Of course his comments on his Trustee re-election site is chock full of misinformation. I’m going to reluctantly respond to it below:
As stated to the board, this entire issue was brought about by Bowen and Bowen only.
No one claimed he violated the law. If I had I would have filed a complaint with the District Attorney’s office, not CCISD.
The attorney hired did not STRONGLY agree to squat. She dismissed it because Bowen said a cute little statement after identifying himself as a Trustee of CCISD and representing the constituents of the district. “I’m here on my own time and own dime”. You can read the entire opinion here.
No one said there was a violation of anyones 1st amendment rights. The complaint specifically stated he violated policy by identifying himself as a Trustee against a public education bill. Policy, not 1st Amendment. He does NOT have the right to represent the Board as per CCISD policy. The video is clear. Watch it.
And it is so rich that Bowen talks about wasting money, when he supported the many re-counts by his buddy Christine Parizo who lost by 25 points and the lawsuit by Misty Dawson costing the district thousands in legal fees. I addressed the cost in my letter to the Board. Quit clutching your pearls Scott.
And lastly he is whining about the Galveston News, much like all republicans do.
As I have written to the Board I consider this issue to be cloooooosed. Here is my letter to the Board concerning the vote tonight followed by Bowen’s whiny post on his Facebook site, followed by a link to the video of his testimony.
According to Councilman Michael Kubosh he has quit the race for Controller due to health reasons. KHOU TV thinks otherwise and for good reason. KHOU compared Kubosh’s campaign finance reports to his social media activity and found that he spent some of his donors money on personal travel and entertainment. From KHOU:
KHOU shared with Gutierrez a list of 20 questionable campaign expenses and corresponding social media videos. They include other expenses for family meals, and airport parking charges during out-of-state trips. The items span six years of Kubosh’s nine-year city council tenure and total $7,754.76.
Now to be fair, $7,754.76 isn’t that much. I’ve seen worse. There was Secretary of State Jane Nelson spending tens of thousands of dollars of her donor’s money on a condo. There was Harris County Commissioner Jerry Eversole spending $250,000 of his donors money on Starbucks, antique books and western chaps. (seriously) And there was State Representative John Davis of Clear Lake spending $1500 of his donors money on fancy, custom made, cowboy boots.
But Kubosh was running for Controller on a platform of fiscal responsibility, transparency, and all of those right wing talking points. He obviously was also running on hypocrisy which is a trademark of the Republican Party. So just days after KHOU started asking questions, he quit, as he should have.
Kubosh has claimed he has filed updated reports. According to Texas laws if you get caught breaking the Ethics Commission laws by a media outlet all you have to do is file a correction and you are off the hook. It’s like stealing from a bank. If you return the money you won’t be charged. (LOL)
Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa has been the Chair of the Texas Democratic Party for over a decade. It is time to thank him for his service to the Party and elect a new leader.
Gilberto Hinojosa retained his position running on his record. His opponents also were running on his record. Carroll Robinson of Houston hammered Hinojosa and his record everywhere he spoke. He criticized his record of just “maintaining” in 2020 when we ran against one of the worst human beings on the top of the ticket. We gained no ground. He criticized his record in the Valley where we lost in districts we should never had lost. He criticized his loss of Hispanic voters. He and others stated when you take credit for the gains of 2018 you must also take responsibility for just maintaining in 2020. He said it was time for something to change. Maintaining was not enough. It was time to win. He was right. He is right.
And then Robinson endorsed him for re-election. Go fuckin figure. So we, once again, maintained in the 2022 elections. We lost all State Wide races even though we had some very well qualified candidates. We couldn’t beat Abbott even after Uvalde, the Freeze, and the abortion issue. At that point Hinojosa should have stepped down before being asked to do so. As a sustaining member of the Party for many years I am asking. You should too.
But…let’s make sure we know what is probably going to happen. Robinson didn’t endorse Hinojosa for his good looks. Robinson will probably be endorsed by Hinojosa even after that dick move he made at the 2022 Democratic Convention. Robinson came in 3rd place in the race for Chair but then joined with Hinojosa by endorsing him. Robinson’s calls for change was nothing less than self serving so he is partially responsible for Hinojosa’s last stand as Chair for the 2022 election. Robinson told the delegation, over and over again, that Hinojosa had a losing record and we needed to move on. Robinson then endorsed him, he won, and we lost.
The State Executive Committee members will have to pick a new Chair once Hinojosa steps down or when 1/3 of the Committee calls for his removal and 2/3 of them vote in favor. That new Chair just might be Robinson although that dick move he made at the Convention still might be a sore spot for many.
Thank you for your service to the Party Mr. Chairman!
Much like Tilman Fertitta Don McGill plays both sides. Sort of.
According to the Texas Ethics Commission Don McGill of Don McGill Toyota donated over $1.8 million to various PACs and candidates since 2000. From 2000-2014 he donated a total of $145,500 with donations not exceeding $5000. In 2014 he began donating large sums of money totaling $1.7 Million. His largest donations includes $500,000 to Judicial Fairness PAC and Stop Houston Murders PAC formed to support republican judicial candidates. He also donated to Sid “The C*nt” Miller and Ken “The Impeached” Paxton. (See below)
He does play both sides of the aisle just like Tilman Fertitta. Of the $1.8 Million he has donated $2500 to 2 Democrats.
You might think Stop Houston Murders PAC is working to, well, stop murders in Houston by advocating for mental health services, taking unlimited guns off the street, educating Houston citizens about respectful ownership of guns, advocating for red flag laws, or working to keep our Police Officers safe. If you think that, then you think wrong.
Stop Houston Murders PAC is a political organization that is spending money on electing judges, republican judges, in Harris County along with the Judicial Fairness PAC which spent $10 Million doing the same thing. They both failed. It’s not like that is what I think they are doing, they actually state it in their slick commercials and their funding is coming from the same people that fund the Judicial Fairness PAC. It looks like Judicial Fairness PAC is working to get corporation friendly civil court judges elected and Stop Houston Murders PAC is focused on criminal judges.
Fundraising SHM began its fundraising in Feb of 2022 with a donation of $25,000 from John O’Neil, a right wing political activist with an interesting past. In 2022 they raised $2.4 Million $2.3 Million, 96% from 20 donations of $10,000 or more. 16 individuals or PACs contributed this $2.3 Million. The top contributors include Judicial Fairness PAC for $650,000, Don McGill Toyota with a combined total of $1 Million between both PACs, and the Houston Police and Firefighters PACs. The 16 individuals/PACs are listed below. Of the $2.4 Million, $5455 or .002% came from the common folks giving $100 or less.
Judicial Fairness PAC
$650,000
Don McGill of West Houston LTD
$500,000
OTA Holdings
$250,000
Texas Transeastern, Inc
$250,000
Weekley ,Richard
$210,000
Coalition Por For Texas PAC
$150,000
Huggins, III ,Josiah O.
$100,000
Plains Marketing, LP
$100,000
O’Neill ,John
$86,500
Hillwood Development
$25,000
Rowling ,Robert
$25,000
Constable Mark Herman Campaign
$10,000
Duddlesten ,Karen A.
$10,000
Herman ,Mark
$10,000
Houston Fire Fighters PAC
$10,000
Peacock ,David
$10,000
Total Donations
$2,396,500
Spending SHM spent over $2.3 Million in 2022 trying to elect republican judges. $2.2 Million was spent on slick advertisements. $2 Million was paid to Bullhorn Communications for consulting and media production. Even Wayne Dolcefino Consulting received a $1100 bone for video production.
Although I do not agree with the ruling I respect the decision.
And I am glad I filed this grievance against Scott Bowen for testifying at a hearing in Austin advocating for a bill, on OUR behalf, that would harm public education. Bowen identified himself as a Trustee, spoke as a Trustee, and stated that his constituents, you and me, were against everything the Texas Association of School Boards advocated for including eliminating racism in the class room and stopping vouchers which would harm our public schools. But don’t take my word for it. Watch the 3 minute video and make your own decision.
The presiding attorney concluded:
It is my recommendation that the grievance and written requested remedy that Trustee Bowen be sanctioned, reprimanded, or asked to resign be denied for the reasons stated herein. Trustee Bowen had a right under Texas law and the United States Constitution, First Amendment, to participate in the legislative process in his individual capacity, and he had a right to identify his title as trustee in doing so. I do not find that he crossed any lines or that he spoke or intended to speak on behalf of the CCISD Board of Trustees.
You can read the entire report here. Maybe next time Bowen will think twice about speaking on behalf of his constituents when he doesn’t have the right to.
Welcome to the great Bag of Dicks joining Gov Abbott, CCISD Trustee Scott Bowen, Congressman Randy Weber, and many more.
Sometimes you just have to ask “Why do you have to be a dick about everything? . Yesterday was one of those times after a vote on creating a committee to address LGBTQ concerns. From the Houston Chronicle:
The new committee, which was pushed forward by Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones, will serve an advisory function and make recommendations to Commissioners Court to improve economic, health and safety outcomes for LGBTQIA+ residents, according to the court agenda.
Ramsey had to be a dick and say something uncalled for and untrue. It was what we call a “dick move”. He just couldn’t help himself. Again from the Chronicle:
“They deal with the grooming of children.”
Someone on the Commission should have asked Ramsey “Why do you have to be a dick about everything?”. Seriously dude. Grow the fuck up. If you are concerned about adults grooming children go advocate against gun shows allowing kids to attend, or against kids going to Twin Peaks, or kids attending MAGAt rallies, or Republican State Representatives porking 19 year old staff members. How about advocating against something that is actually real instead of stupidly repeating stupid comments from Fox News.
When do you stop bashing trial lawyers? When you need one.
While looking at the donations to Texans for Lawsuit Reform I stumbled on a PAC called Judicial Fairness, which is far from fair. Judicial Fairness PAC was created in 2020 with a one time donation of $900,000 from Engage Texas, an extreme right wing organization. They have since raised over $10 Million and spent the most of these donations to sway the election of Judges in Harris County. In 2022 they failed but they came very close across the board. $10 Million is considered, in political terms, a shitload of money for Judicial races.
Of the $10.8 million raised $10.3 Million came from 11 PACs or corporations. (See list below) The top donors include Texans for Lawsuit Reform for $5.3 Million, Conoco, Chevron, Don McGill Toyota, and even $750,000 from the Las Vegas Sands. Needless to say their goal is fairness in the court room, not for you or me, but for their corporations.
They spent $3.3 Million specifically against Harris County Democratic Judges including donations $650,000 to Stop Houston Murders PAC. Other expenditures of over $7 Million were not disclosed on who they specifically supported/opposed. These expenditures were for ad buys, mailers, TV, and radio. Nebo Media in Atlanta Georgia was paid $7.2 Million for their advertisement services.
So when you or a family member are in front of a Judge in a criminal or civil case just think about how important judicial fairness really is, and who paid for it.
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.
Posted by johncoby 
Bay Area Houston 