Wednesday, June 29, 2011

All Texas TSA Anti Groping Bills in Texas Special Session are DEAD - Rep Simpson Blames Leadership Failure

This Just In:

Today was the last day of the Special Session, Wednesday June 29th, 2011, and any hope for the Texas House passing a TSA Anti Groping Bill has failed due to the House not having enough members show up and vote to suspend the rules and pass the Texas Senate version of the bill.

According to the Texas Tribune, after it became apparent the bill was dead, Simpson spoke before the House and openly criticized leadership in both chambers. With House Speaker Joe Straus, who just last week referred to the TSA bill as a publicity stunt, standing behind him, Simpson said he believed House leadership had thwarted his effort to stop the "routine" touching of private parts by federal agents. He said he is "fed up with phonies" and politicians who take credit for bills they try to kill.

During his 15-minute speech, Simpson quoted Churchill by saying, "Never yield to force... never yield to the overwhelming might of the enemy." On the TSA legislation, he declared, "I'm not giving up."

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Texas Senator Dan Patrick Releases Statement Showing how the House, not the senate, Killed TSA Groping and Sanctuary Cities Bills

 
if the house can get 120 members to vote to suspend the rules tomorrow, the TSA bill still could get through...
 
 
 
Dan Patrick Statement:

Dear Friend,

I have been sent several e-mails that are circulating today concerning Sanctuary City and the TSA bill. They are either biased due to a friendship with someone, or they simply are mis-informed and don't know the facts.  The facts do not lie.  This is long, but you need the facts and the full picture.  I appreciate all you do for Texas. I don't want a feud between the House and the Senate. But, when people send out false information it has to be answered.  I appreciate the work the House did this year.  I am frustrated how the final two weeks ended stopping us from passing Sanctuary City and TSA bills.  I'm not blaming anyone, or pointing a finger, simply setting the record straight based on the facts.

FACTS

First, let me be clear. Rep David Simpson did all he could to pass this bill. He gets great credit and my respect for never giving up. He is a good man. The facts contained do not reflect his desire to seek delay at any step of the way. I will let him speak for himself.

1. Early in the week of June 13th, I believe the 13th or 14th, Rep Simpson, who has worked his heart out on the TSA bill, told me he had the votes to pass his bill out of committee and asked me if we had the votes in the Senate. He passed the bill out without opposition that week, on Monday or Tuesday I believe. 13th or 14th  He can confirm date.

2. I worked to get the votes again and on June 14th. I had my votes again. On June 15th I delivered a brief letter to the Governor's office letting him know I had the votes in the Senate and David had the votes in the House. I once again asked him to put the bill on the call.

3. Perry was traveling that week and was not aware of my letter until a few days later when a gentlemen approached in on June 18th, Saturday, in New Orleans and asked him to put TSA on the call. Gov Perry said there was not time or the votes. The gentlemen told Perry that Dan Patrick sent him a letter. (I had posted on my Facebook pg of the letter)  Perry answered he was not aware.  The Governor returned to Austin Sunday, June 19th, read the letter and put the bill back on the call the next day Monday June 20th.

4. I met with David Simpson and we agreed for him to lead on the bill and pass it. He asked House leadership to schedule the bill for the floor. 

Let's put this in perspective: He passed the bill on June 13th or 14th, a week later the bill was still not scheduled for the floor.  On June 20th Perry adds the bill to the call, but the bill is not set for a House vote until Friday June 24th.  WE LOST TWO WEEKS from passage out of committee to scheduling for the floor.  The Senate had nothing to do with that scheduling issue. We were ready for the bill as soon as we received it.

Rep Simpson was hoping to bring it up sooner, but on Monday June 20th there was not a quorum and no House business was conducted. Rep Simpson was then hoping the bill would be set on Thursday, but it was set for Friday June 24th.  

5. On Fri June 24th, the Speaker announced the bill was a publicity stunt and a laughingstock.  This despite the fact nothing was said previously in regular session when the bill passed 138-0  (or close to that number)  And anyone who knows Rep Simpson knows he was sincere on this issue. He would never launch a publicity stunt.  

In addition, this was a bill that was written in large part with input by the A.G office.  Rep Simpson agreed to all of the language except changing "beyond a reasonable doubt"  to "reasonable suspicion " which was favored by the majority of House members, police, and the district attorneys. It apparently wasn't going to pass the House without it. It is said that the Speaker did not like that and that is why he was upset. I don't know, but it could have been fixed in an hour and passed on Friday, June 24th.

RESULT:  WE NOW LOST FRIDAY AS THE DEADLINE APPROACHED.

6. In the Senate we were waiting for his bill.  David knew the plan was to take his bill.  We had a hearing scheduled originally for Thursday, June 23rd, hoping it might come over early, but when the bill was set for Friday, we scheduled Monday. THERE WAS NEVER A PLAN TO PASS THE SENATE BILL SB 29, but to take his bill. Everyone involved knows that is the truth, including David Simpson.

7. When the bill did not move on Friday, and the Speaker saying it was a stunt by Rep Simpson, I assumed it might not come up at all, and even if it did, the clock would be against us. We shifted gears and moved our bill out of committee on Monday morning, June 27, to give us a chance to pass a bill. We did not know what they were going to do.  We couldn't amend the bill in committee because of time, so we amended it on the floor Monday night.

8. On Monday afternoon I had hope again when the House took up Rep Simpson's bill. However, they did not suspend the rules to pass it to third reading meaning it would not pass until today, Tuesday, June 28th.  If the House wanted to give the HB 41 a chance they needed to at least suspend the rules on Monday to third reading and send it over to us. We could have taken it up Tuesday in committee, and then on the floor Wednesday, but the time was still tight.  Once they delayed until today for final passage, the bill was dead coming over to us because of various rules on time.  

AT THAT POINT, I DECIDED TO TRY TO SUSPEND ALL RULES TO GET OUR BILL OVER TO THEM ON MONDAY NIGHT.  It's a bit complex, but this was our only chance to suspend the rules. I needed to convince 2 Democrats to suspend last night.  I did and we passed it our about 9 pm last night.  So, the Senate passed the bill out of committee and all the way off the floor in 12 hours, while the House took two weeks from committee to House passage, and actually never finally passed it out as of tonight.  Even if they did there was not time. We would need to suspend rules several times and would not have had the votes to do as we had last night, when I only needed to suspend once with 2 extra votes.

9. Today the House did not gavel in until 2 pm.  Because they adjourned yesterday they could not take the bill last night. We could not send it over to them until they gaveled in today at 2 pm.  We sent the bill over about 2:20-30, along with HB 79.

THE HOUSE REFUSED TO ALLOW OUR MESSENGER TO DELIVER EITHER HB 79, a court reform bill, or SB 29 TSA bill. Veterans who have been in the legislature a long time, nor the media, could remember one chamber keeping a messenger out from delivering important bills, especially with deadlines only a day off.  It may have happened once a long time ago, but one has to sake why the House refused to accept SB 29 and HB 79.  I believe they finally accepted it later in the day.

10. Instead of taking up our bill, a strong bill that was written with the help of district attorneys, to be sure they could prosecute, the AG office, to be sure they could defend in Court, and removed some language opposed by citizens, and the exact language Speaker Strauss and the House required changing from "probable cause" to  "reasonable suspicion with an unknown or unlawful object." 

11. Sanctuary City bill.  The Senate passed over SB 9 a Sanctuary City bill almost two weeks ago that required proof of citizenship to get a drivers license, requiring all people arrested  go through a Secure Community Check for citizenship, and allowing local police to inquire on a person being legal present in the state and country
THIS BILL HAS NEVER BEEN VOTED OUT OF COMMITTEE.  IT HAS SAT FOR TWO WEEKS WITH NO ACTION.

The House wanted the Senate to add some weak immigration language to Senate bill 1, the fiscal matters bill. That bill is a must pass bill. Adding sanctuary city language, even with weak language, would have killed the bill because the Democrats would have filibustered again and we would be back in another special session.  ALL THEY HAD TO DO WAS PASS SB 9 during the last two weeks.

SUMMARY

I have laid out the facts. I cannot address those who have a friend in the House or a bias and who are trying to defend these actions. These are the facts, HB 41 TSA passes out of committee June 13th or 14th, and it takes 10 days to get a floor vote, and when it comes up the Speaker pulls it down.  Then when they pass it on Monday, June 27th, they don't pass it to third reading, waiting until today, which kills the bill, with only one day left in session and time lines we could not has suspended. If we could have suspended it would have been only with a few hour left on Wednesday night and the Democrats would have filibustered it.

We passed our bill as a last resort to keep the issue alive.  The House could have suspended rules, they have 101 Rs, and the bill was supported without a no vote previously. They could taken up the Senate bill by tomorrow, passed it, and send it to the Governor.
Instead they refuse to accept the bill at first from our messenger with the clock ticking.

Why there was a long delay on both TSA and Sanctuary City bills in the House is for them to answer. They clearly had plenty of time to pass both. A lack of quorum on several days didn't help, but they still had time.

The Senate passed every bill we were asked to pass during Special.  We finished our work and with no time left to accept any bills and pass tomorrow, we concluded today.

This isn't about a battle between the House and Senate, it's about doing the job people asked us to do.  I have given you the facts. I will let you decide the truth.  I can tell you we did all we could in the Senate to pass both the TSA bill and Sanctuary City bills.  I think the facts show the House did not.  

Senator Dan Patrick

Monday, June 27, 2011

State Senator Says TSA Anti Groping Bill is Dead. It Will Not Pass Due To Speaker Straus's Bad Timing

State Senator Says TSA Anti Groping Bill is Dead. It Will Not Pass Due to Speaker Straus's Bad Timing

As I predicted, the State Affairs Committee bailed out again and cancelled their meeting Monday morning. This left the TSA and Sanctuary Cities Legislation looking pretty dead.

Then the unexpected happened on Monday when Speaker Joe Straus, who just recently mocked the Anti Groping Bill by calling it a publicity stunt, did a shocking 180% turn around and revived the TSA bill by ending his block and letting it some to the House Floor for a second reading.

Everyone Start Celebrating right?

To be honest, I actually got very excited at first and was thankful that Joe Straus did the right thing.

But then I got this personal email from a State Senator explaining to me that the TSA Bill will most likely not get passed and was Dead on Arrival.


Here is the email message I got from this State Senator:

The TSA Anti-Groping Bill will most likely not get passed by the end of the session tomorrow. It all comes down to timing. Timing is a matter of Constitutional requirements. One is a House Bill the other a Senate Bill. House still has to vote out on third reading tomorrow.   Even though they are similar, one of them must go back to the other's committee, then back to floor to be voted on separate days after posting for 24 hours in between. Clock will not permit without suspension of rules which Dem's will not give. Sanctuary city Senate bill has been sitting in House for thirteen days with no action.

So all of this for nothing!?  It was all just a show?

It seems like the real Publicity Stunt is Speaker Joe Straus waiting till the last minute to bring the bill to the house floor for a vote and doing so with the knowledge that it does not stand a chance to pass because it was brought to the floor too late. I suppose it makes sense though. The Speaker gets a win win. He kills the bill that he didn't like by waiting to bring it to the floor, and at the same time he gets to say that he actually tried to get the bill passed.

This State Senator also makes another very interesting point. The Senate PASSED the Sanctuary Cities Bill and it sat in the House State Affairs Committee for13 days with no action! The Sanctuary Cities Bill was an emergency item this session and is actually part of the Republican Party platform and yet a Republican controlled House could not get it passed.

The State Affairs Committee was in charge of the TSA and Sanctuary Cities Legislation. It is headed up by Byron Cook who was part of the Gang of 11 Republicans who joined forces with the Democrats to get Straus elected as Speaker. Straus could have gotten whatever bills he wanted out of that important committee.


The Bottom line is that, at the end of the day, a Republican Dominated House could not get these important Republican Bills passed in this Special Session, and it all comes down to the leadership of Speaker Joe Straus and his elaborate "publicity stunt".

I sure hope I am wrong and I hope that something miraculous will happen so that these bills can get passed. It can only be possible if the rules are suspended and this is not easy to do so is not looking good... I hope they can do it though

Don't get me wrong. Overall this was a good session and the super-majority of Republicans were able to get some good bills passed. But these special session stunts, and even the regular session stunts like some of the strongest conservatives getting hurt in redistricting, took everyone by surprise and they reflect poorly on the Speaker

Breaking News: Texas State Affairs Committee CANCELLED This Morning - No TSA or Sanctuary City Legislation

I previously reported that the State Affairs Committee members did not show up Friday in order to prevent a Quorum and stop important legislation from coming out of their committee and that they would probably not show up today either in order to keep from having to consider the important legislation regarding Anti TSA Groping and Anti Sanctuary Cities. See previous article here
 
Breaking News:
 
A Texas State Representative has just informed me that the Texas House State Affairs Committee Meeting that was scheduled for this morning has been CANCELLED. This Committee was supposed to take up the TSA Anti Groping issue this morning and they also still have the Anti Sanctuary Cities legislation that has been left pending in their committee. These issues are for certain not going to be brought up in this session because this special session ends tomorrow and without a meeting of the State Affairs Committee this morning, those issues do not have time to get passed.
 
Unless something is brought up to the floor by Strau of via an amendment to another bill, then it seems clear that the members of the State Affairs Committee have purposely fled to prevent this legislation from moving forward.
 
It will be interesting to see if there will even be a quorum today in the House of Representatives, and if there is, what issues will be brought up of covered up...

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Texas to Pass TSA Anti Groping “Resolution” not Bill - PLUS Rep. James White Confirms State Rep Standoff Over Sanctuary Cities

See Interview with Texas State Representative James White at end of this Article

Texas State Rep White Says AWOL Members of State Affairs Committee are Holding Up Voting in Special Session Over a Sanctuary Cities Standoff. Plus he says that the Texas Legislature on Monday might only pass an Anti Groping “resolution” instead of a bill. I guess I am not surprised when Rep White told me this because, after all, Speaker Joe Straus will personally not allow an anti groping bill go to the floor for a vote and has even openly mocked the Majority of Texans by calling it a “publicity stunt.”

In my previous article, see here, I reported that there is a standoff in the Texas Legislature. There were over 50 State Representatives missing in action on Friday June 24th and the Special Session had to come to a halt because there was not a Quorum. A State Representative source told me that as long as SB 9 (the Sanctuary Cities Bill) was in play, many State Reps would not show up and there would not be a quorum.

The TSA Anti Groping Bill is being considered as a reason for the standoff. This is just not true. The TSA bill is being used as a distraction to keep from people seeing the real issue which is a standoff over the Sanctuary Cities Bill.

Today I spoke with State Rep James White and he confirmed that the standoff is over the Sanctuary Cities Bill and the talk about the standoff being over the TSA bill is just a distraction from the Sanctuary Cities battle because the majority of the House supports the TSA legislation. He went on to explain that the standoff is even simpler than I originally thought. The Standoff, and the reason why the Special Session has come to a halt, is originating out of the State Affairs Committee.

Before the House Session began on Friday, there was to be a State Affairs Committee meeting earlier Friday morning. Several members of the State Affairs Committee did not show up on Friday morning and that prevented that State Affairs Committee Meeting from having a quorum. When the State Affairs Committee did not have a quorum the 8:45 AM committee meeting was cancelled. This carried over into the 10AM House session with the Speaker of the House having to adjourn on Friday because there was not a quorum. But it all started earlier that morning in the State Affairs Committee. If the members of the State Affairs Committee showed up to do their job by getting these bills out of the State Affairs Committee, then the rest of the Texas State Reps would have been there too.

So what was on the agenda for Friday that caused members of the State Affairs Committee to not show up and prevent a Quorum? The State Affairs Committee was to consider pending business (the Sanctuary Cities Bill) on Friday Morning.

So that is it folks. The Standoff is most certainly over the Sanctuary Cities Bill and is has been narrowed down to originating out of the State Affairs Committee

So what happens next? Well, Monday the State Affairs Committee has scheduled a meeting to discuss the TSA Anti Groping legislation. Don’t get too excited though, the Speaker of the House Joe Straus has personally killed that bill and mocked the majority of Texans by calling the anti groping bill a “publicity stunt”, so what will be proposed in the Monday meeting will not be an anti groping bill and instead will only be an anti groping “resolution”. Yep, if this anti groping resolution passes we are gonna really stand up to the TSA by “passing a resolution that will tell the TSA that we are not happy with them”

It is interesting to note that the Monday Meeting does not include taking up their pending business, also known as the Sanctuary cities bill. The picture is starting to get clearer.

But, even though the Sanctuary Cities Bill has not been put on the agenda for Monday, the bill could still be brought up when the State Affairs Committee meets on Monday when they take up the TSA Resolution.

One of two things will happen Monday. The State Affairs Committee members will continue to have a standoff to prevent a quorum and there will not be a State Affairs Committee meeting on Monday, OR the State Affairs Committee members will actually show up and swiftly pass the weak, do nothing TSA Anti Groping Resolution but then adjourn before the Sanctuary Cities bill can be brought back up.

Even if the Sanctuary Cities Bill does not make it out of Committee, it is still sure to get interesting because there is talk that a State Rep will add the Sanctuary Cities Legislation onto SB1 as an amendment with no debate and just an up or down vote.


East Texas State Rep James White was elected as a conservative, no nonsense, get things done kind of guy. After I heard about the standoff I knew I could call him and he would give me a straight forward opinion of what is going on without trying to just make a biased attack against any other State Reps.


Here is my Full Interview with State Representative James White:

David Bellow: What important legislation do we still have on the table?

James White: SB 1 is the big fiscal matters bill that will help ensure that our budget is certified and that schools are funded. SB 9 Sanctuary Cities bill. Many East Texas are very concerned with safety in their communities and on the border. TSA anti groping bill. People elected last election as a statement that they want us to push back against excessive federal abuse and the TSA groping is certainly an abuse of federal power and East Texans want us to stand up against it. SB 7 is the healthcare fiscal bill that is important because it has the healthcare compact provision in it to allow Texas to opt out of Obamacare and form our own health care system that works for Texas. Basically the bills we have left are the ones that push back against big Federal Government.

David Bellow: When will the TSA Bill and the Sanctuary Cities bill get to the house floor for an up or down vote?

James White: The TSA bill made it out of committee and will most certainly get passed if brought to the floor for an up or down vote. You have to understand that there is not really any opposition to the TSA bill from the members of the Texas House of Representatives because it passed nearly unanimously this year out of the house, it is very popular with constituents, and over 100 state reps are sponsors of the bill.

The Sanctuary cities bill is held up in the State Affairs Committee. The committee heard testimony on the bill earlier in the week and was supposed to finish taking up the Sanctuary Cities Bill on Friday June 24th but they didn’t.

David Bellow: Why didn’t they take up the bill on Friday?

James White: They did not take up the bill on Friday because the State Affairs Committee did not have a quorum and cancelled the meeting.

David Bellow: Do you believe that there are members of the State Affairs Committee who purposely did not show up because they do not want to sanctuary cities bill to get passed?

James White: Yes I do. This Sanctuary Cities Bill is what is causing the most turmoil behind the scenes in the House.

David Bellow: So what is coming up next?

James White: Monday the State Affairs Committee will hear a proposed resolution, HCR 5, against TSA groping. They will not be considering an Anti Groping Law and will only be considering a Resolution. A resolution does not have the backing of the law and is only a statement

If the State Affairs Committee meets on Monday to do this resolution then they have an obligation to also finish up the Sanctuary Cities Bill but I do not think that will happen.

If the State Affairs Committee does not pass the Sanctuary Cities Bill then a possible Sanctuary Cities Amendment could be tagged onto SB 1 and would be an up or down vote with no discussion.

All of this boils down to the members of the State Affairs Committee. They are hand picked by and will follow the directives of the Speaker of the House. This is one of the most important committees and the Speaker could ask them to do something and they will do it. But they are not doing anything, and unless these State Reps have VERY important matters they need to attend to, they have an obligation to be here and finish business.

David Bellow: Is there anything else you would like to add?

James White: I was one of the first signers onto the TSA Anti Groping Bill. I am a former Infantry Officer so I know about security. Some of the things we are doing in airports is just downright wrong and not more effective than other less intrusive measures. This is Texas! How is it possible that we have non elected bureaucrats telling us what we can and cannot do? This non elected bureaucrat thinks he is going to tell 150 members of the Texas House of Representatives what we can and cannot do? We have to stand up against this. When I was sworn in I swore to uphold the US Constitution AND the State Constitution. East Texans are mad and they cannot understand why TEXAS State Reps are backing down and letting out State Constitution be run over by these appointed, non elected officials.

David Bellow: Thank you for taking time to let us know what is going on!

James White: You’re Welcome.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Urgent! Texas State Rep Says Fellow State Reps Have Fled to Prevent a Quorum and Stop Voting in Special Session. Wisconsin All Over Again?

this article posted at www.TexasGOPvote.com

“There is currently a Standoff in the Texas Legislature and I have been told that as long as the Sanctuary City issue is still in the air, these State Reps will not show up and there will very likely not be enough State Reps to have a quorum, just like the Wisconsin standoff”, says my State Representative source.


Over the course of the Texas Legislative Session I keep in touch with several Legislators. Yesterday evening I talked to one State Representative who told me some troubling news.

Just yesterday, June 24th, 2011, there was NO voting allowed in the Special Session because there was not a Quorum. There did not even need to be a roll call because just looking onto the floor of the Texas House of Representatives it was clear that there were not enough people. Well over 50 State Reps were missing. Obviously there will be those who ask to be excused for various reasons like emergencies or other important matters, but that list of excused members only had 15 names on it.

So where was everyone else?

This State Rep informed me that, although no one is saying it publicly, many of these State Reps who did not show up have said they would not show up as long as the Sanctuary City Bill is being considered. I know what you are saying, the Sanctuary City Bill is dead right? Yes, with the help of some Republicans like Byron cook, the bill did not make it out of committee. But a Sanctuary City Amendment is planned to be added to another bill. That will limit debate on the Sanctuary Cities legislation and secure its passage with a simple majority vote. “There is currently a Standoff in the Texas Legislature and I have been told that as long as the Sanctuary City issue is still in the air, these State Reps will not show up and there will most likely not be enough State Reps to have a quorum, just like the Wisconsin standoff”, says my State Rep source.

It looks like we might have Wisconsin all over again! Except now it is happening in Texas. These State Reps are not showing up for work simply because they want to keep the majority of the other State Reps from passing a bill that they do not like. I suppose it is not enough for these State Reps that there has been more than one Houston Cop killed by an illegal Immigrant see here and here. These murders would have never happened if police officers were allowed to check Immigration status of everyone that is stopped for committing crime or a violation because these killers would have been identifies as illegal long before the killings. Don’t misunderstand me, I am for immigration and certainly have many Hispanic friends, like fellow blogger Adryana Boyne. But it has to be done the right way and there is a process that has to be followed and breaking the law is not the way to start off coming to America. Most importantly, we have to keep these criminals from entering into America and killing police officers.

But Wait, Texas has 101 Republicans right? The Democrats don’t even have to show up for there to be a quorum. Yep, you guessed it, there are Republicans who are part of this group of defectors. But State Reps fleeing to prevent a quorum in Texas is not something new. In 2003, years before the Wisconsin standoff, Texas had 51 Democrats flee the State in order to put a stop to any legislation getting passed.

Shame on these Democrats and some Republicans. Whoever you are, get back to work and stop wasting the taxpayer’s money in this special session.

Could this information be wrong? I suppose this State Rep could be misinformed. But this State Rep source would not tell me something if he did not believe it to be true so I know that this State Rep and his colleagues believe it to be true, and it seems as though it is true since yesterday in special session there were over 50 State Reps mysteriously not there. That does not happen very often unless there is a reason and this State Rep believes that the reason is a Sanctuary Cities standoff. I hope that we keep the Sanctuary Cities Amendment alive and I hope that our State Reps decide to show up on Monday and do the job they were elected to do… go ahead, prove us wrong and show up on Monday…. It could get very interesting though if they decide to keep the standoff alive or if the other side caves in and drops the Sanctuary Cities Amendment.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

A Lumberton Texas Landlord and a Crooked Judge Kick Mother with 4 Kids Out on the Street in Illegal Act of Retaliation (Heartbreaking VIDEO)

By, David Bellow 


A Lumberton, TX Landlord and a Lumberton, TX Justice of the Peace, Butch Cummings, have given a woman and 4 small children 5 days before they are kicked out on the street in an apparently illegal and pre-meditated act of retaliation. The mother is not past due on her rent and is only getting evicted because this concerned mother legally complained about health conditions of their trailer such as deadly mold and open electrical boxes with water flowing through them. This mother was told that the trailer was only “temporary” to begin with when they moved in and it has just been discovered that it was not even allowed to be rented in the first place because of the city inspection violations. The Fire Marshall even reported that there were over a dozen violations including a life threatening safety risk. The Judge seems to be friends with the landlord and kicked this mother out without an proper hearing and without even listening to the side of the mother or looking at the mother's evidence. It is illegal to evict someone for complaining about health conditions.

We have to spread the word and help keep this mother from getting put out on the streets illegally by a crooked judge and a slumlord.


Below is the written story, but first, here is a video of me talking with this family at the trailer house. The mother gets choked up talking about how she just does not want her kid to get hurt or anyone else in the trailer park to get hurt because of the safely hazards. This video shows the ceiling caving in and shows the water faucet that does not have a thermostat so that their kids could get scolded. It shows the light switch where the water flows through causing a shock risk and even shows the toilet paper outside where the sewer leaks.

Video Part 1


Video Part 2




here is the story of the Slumlord and the Crooked Justice of the Peace:


Jan and her husband moved to Lumberton, TX in October 2010. They were shown a decent trailer to move into. They paid the rent but come time to move in, the landlord sent them to a “temporary” trailer. This temporary trailer was not even allowed to be rented because of its unlivable conditions according to the city inspector (I am not sure why the City of Lumberton has not enforced these inspection results). Even though they were in the temporary trailer, Jan still paid her rent on time every month and is still current on her rent.

After some time of living in the temporary trailer without hearing anything from the landlord, Jan decided to get in touch with the landlord, Dawn Flemming, about when they could move into their original trailer. The landlord told her there is no other trailer and she is stuck where she is at. Jan then took the proper steps to file a complaint about the living conditions such as black mold, holes in roof, open electrical boxes, and sewer leaking into bathtub (click here to see photos of temporary trailer).

What Jan got in response to her complaint was an eviction notice and the actual reason for eviction, written on the eviction notice, was that she “complained too much”, even though Texas law strictly prohibits evictions that come as a result of a condition complaint. It is considered retaliation.

Her eviction hearing was yesterday, June 21st, 2011, in front of Lumberton, TX Justice of the Peace W.W. Butch Cummings. You might remember Butch Cummings because of the complaint against him that he coerced his opponent out of the election and threatened bodily harm if anyone opened their mouths about it. When Jan showed up to the eviction hearing the Property Manager, Dawn Flemming, was sitting and laughing with Butch Cummings like they were good friends. When Jan walked in, Butch Cummings asked Jan where she was from. Jan said she was from Florida. Butch Cummings said “you need to return to Florida” and gave Jan 5 days to leave. Jan was not given Due Process in the Judicial hearing and was not even allowed to show any evidence pertaining to the situation. The Property Manager said “I’ll find another sucker who won’t complain”.

Jan’s father is a building inspector from Florida. His name is Carl Dawson. He is the gentleman who contacted me about this entire incident. He said that his inspection of the trailer park showed that almost 80% of the trailers are not up to code and that many other tenants told him that they were threatened with eviction when they complained about the unlivable conditions.

Jan and Carl are already contacting agencies to send complaints to. I have encouraged them to also file a complaint with the Hardin County Attorney and the District Attorney because it appears that laws have been violated. I have also encouraged them to file a complaint with the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct.

Jan and Carl Dawson are more than happy to talk to the media about this injustice. They can be contacted by contacting David Bellow at 409 656 5128 or emailing him at mdbellow@gmail.com


The name of the mobile home park is:

Country Pines Mobile Home Park
1119 S Main, Lumberton, TX 77657
Property Manager: Dawn Flemming
409-225-7457
Property Owner: Loyle Rodgers


update:

I have had people ask me why would this mother live there in the first place and also why doesn't she just move to a new place tomorrow. She got trapped into the old switch and bait... she was shown a good trailer when they were moving in but then were put into this "temporary" trailer. They did not know of all the problems at first and they did not expect to be there for long and they could not afford to lose the money they paid the landlord. Once these health problems became aware they started complaining and asked to have the problems fixed or for them to be moved in a trailer without life threatening safety issues. They were denied help and then got an eviction for complaining. They are low income and cannot just get up and move and they fully expected that the landlord would fix the problems. the landlord and the judge are the bad guys. This family just does not have the money to get themselves out of the situation but they are doing their best to cover the problem areas to protect the kids and to file a complaint to have the landlord fix it. It is the landlords responsibility to fix the trailer and it is illegal to evict someone after a health hazard complaint. If this family knew at the beginning that there were so many health problems or that the problems would never be fixed then they would have found somewhere else to live to begin with. It is just another example of low income individuals getting trapped in a situation that they do not have the money to get out of it. To top it off this jusge did not even accept any evidence from this family and told her she had 5 days to leave. She asked for 30 days to the finances together to find another place but she was told to just leave... all because she complained about life threatening conditions. This landlord and judge should be ashamed

Monday, June 20, 2011

Lumberton Teacher Chastises 6th Grade Students for Watching Fox News Instead of CNN

By, David Bellow 

In Late May 2011, I was contacted by a parent who told me a troubling story of finding out that her daughter’s 6th grade classmates were being chastised for watching Fox News (see what the teacher said below). The School is Lumberton ISD in Lumberton, TX and the teacher is Karen Talbert who teaches Science Class. Upon learning this information, I wanted to make certain that this information was correct before going forward. I talked to fellow teachers of Karen Talbert who told me that Mrs. Talbert was a nice lady who was not shy about expressing her political opinions. I believe that she is a nice lady and I believe that it is perfectly fine to express one’s opinion, but is it appropriate to express your personal political opinions as fact to impressionable 6th grade students? My next step was to meet with the family. They are a nice family who seem genuinely concerned that their daughter is being told by a teacher which news stations to watch. The most troubling part is that these parents almost did not know what happened in their daughter’s class. That is the problem with a leftist agenda in schools. It mostly goes undetected because the students believe their teachers tell them only right things so there is no reason for them to run home and tell their parents what their teacher said in school. When I met the parents of this 6th grade girl, the mother sat down and wrote out the following statement about the incident:

“One night last week we were all sitting at the dinner table and our daughter asked “is Fox News the national news?” We said yes and asked why. She told us that her teacher told the class that Fox News was bad and that they should only watch CNN. Our daughter is 12 years old in 6th grade at Lumberton intermediate School. Her teacher who is telling the class this is Mrs. Karen Talbert, a 6th grade science teacher. We started to tell our daughter that this was not right of her teacher and that she should not listen to the teacher’s personal views. Our daughter then told us about the time that one of her classmates was talking to another classmate and she made the comment “Fox News said that Obama was not making good decisions.” Our daughter then told us that Mrs. Talbert went up to this girl’s desk and put her hand down on the desk and started yelling at her about how Fox News doesn’t know what they are talking about and they never tell the whole story so if you want good news and the right news you need to watch CNN. Our daughter said the classmate looked like she was going to cry because the teacher was getting so upset. As a parent, I am not concerned what news station someone else watches. My concern is that a teacher should not be giving her personal political views to students. They get enough bad influences as it is and they don’t need it from teachers too”

That statement is straight from the mother of one of the little girls in this Science Class.

It is not surprising that there are liberal teachers in this conservative community of Lumberton, TX. It was only a couple years ago that I passed out an American flag to every house in Lumberton on the anniversary of 9/11. The flag came with a flyer promoting conservative values. I was not very surprised that I got an email from someone who was not happy. This person said she was a liberal and said I was wrong and that she will pray to Mother Mary to have her son Jesus help us conservatives make it through this Democratic Rule. The thing that surprised me though was that this person signed this letter as “Michelle Champagne Junior English and World History Teacher”. As you can see, this person did not sign her letter as a concerned citizen. She signed her letter as a high school teacher. I certainly would question what kind of a slant that she has in her history lessons.

We wonder why there is such a strong movement in Texas towards Homeschooling and Private Schools. It is because parents do not want their children indoctrinated by a leftist agenda in Textbooks or even by liberal teachers themselves, such as this Lumberton ISD teacher chastising students for watching Fox News.

Public Schools are a double edged sword. On one hand you want to send your kids there to learn. On the other hand it is horrifying to see the immoral and violent environment that children have to be in at many public schools. It was just in the last few months that Mansfield ISD was exposed for mandating Arabic Culture training, or how about the incident at Seagoville ISD (Dallas, TX) where the teacher watched a bully beat up another student and did not even call for help, or how about when a school like in Lumberton ISD performs a play with vulgar language and that talked about minors putting ads online to get laid, or how about when parents are selective in the negative influences their children are exposed to and then their child gets on the school bus and the music is blaring songs that glorify sex and violence. I remember a couple of years ago my little brother was humming a very inappropriate song that he did not even know what the words meant in the song. I asked where he learned that song and he told me on the school bus. Most schools, like Lumberton ISD, have radios on the busses and there are no restrictions to what is played to the students of all ages riding on the bus.

I could go on and on about the immoral and violent environment of many public schools, but you get the point already.

I am very concerned about the negative and inappropriate environment that children are forced to be in at Public Schools. I hope this story of a Lumberton ISD teacher telling children that Fox News is bad will open up the eyes of parents so that the parents will start asking more questions and demand that schools do a better job of creating a safe and neutral environment for their children.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Happy Father's Day! Watch This Hillarious Music Video Tribute to Fathers Called "Dad Life"

happy Father's Day!

To all of the Dad's out there, you play a vital role in how your children grow up. If they grow up in an environment with drugs and violence then they are more likely to end up in Prison than if their father was a good role model who taught their children right and wrong and instilled good moral values in them. My father thankfully taught me good values!

Obama has political motives into everything he says so I will not post his Father's Day proclamation in which he supported gay relationships and families with two fathers. Instead, below is President Bush's 2008 Father's Day Presidential Proclamation.

BUT FIRST,

Watch this Hysterical video from www.GodTube.com It is a tribute to Fathers. It is called "Dad Life" and it is HYSTERICAL!





On Father's Day, we honor our Nation's fathers for the unconditional love they give to their children and for their selfless dedication to the well-being of their families.

Fathers play a unique and irreplaceable part in the lives of their children and pass along values that help children grow into responsible adults. By providing their sons and daughters with a positive example, fathers help give their children the necessary foundation they need to make wise decisions throughout their lives. Fathers strive to inspire their children to lead lives of integrity, honor, and purpose, and they pray for wisdom and the strength to give their children the love and support they need to achieve their dreams.

All Americans are thankful for the extraordinary efforts of our Nation's fathers, stepfathers, grandfathers, and guardians. Their devotion and encouragement as mentors, providers, and role models help strengthen their families and our country. We are especially grateful for the fathers who serve in our Nation's Armed Forces. These dedicated fathers protect liberty so that all children can have a more promising future. We pray for the safe return of all those serving overseas, and we thank the fathers who support sons and daughters who are defending our freedom around the globe.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, in accordance with a joint resolution of the Congress approved April 24, 1972, as amended (36 U.S.C. 109), do hereby proclaim June 15, 2008, as Father's Day. I encourage all Americans to express their appreciation to all fathers for their many contributions to our Nation's children. I direct the appropriate officials of the Government to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on this day. I also call upon State and local governments and citizens to observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twelfth day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-second.

GEORGE W. BUSH

Friday, June 17, 2011

Travis County (Austin, TX) using Taxpayer Dollars to Sue Republicans over Redistricting

At the most recent State Republican Executive Committee meeting I was informed by the State Chairman that the he was served papers letting him know of a lawsuit against the Republican Party over redistricting by Travis County, TX. Why? Because Travis County does not like their Austin population getting split up. They want their own district all to themselves and they don’t care about anyone else. They want to draw the lines instead of the Texas Legislature whose members get elected to do draw the lines in redistricting. Districts have to have roughly equal population numbers in each district and for that to happen there have to be districts where big cities get split up and put in a district with less populated counties so that the numbers add up and the district sizes stay reasonable. Otherwise there would be tiny districts in the big cities and then the rural counties would all be in one big district that spans 300 miles. All the other big cities get split up too. Stop Crying Travis County and Stop Wasting Taxpayer Dollars. That’s right. The county is using tax money to do this.

It upsets me that when Democrats are in power they carve up the maps in Redistricting and they oppress the Republicans in every way they can, but now that the Republicans are in power they whine about being oppressed when really they are not. Republicans rule the voting boxes in Texas and yet we are giving the Democrats HALF of the four new congressional seats that we are getting in Texas. That is very generous. We could have been like Illinois where the Illinois Democrats run things and they are virtually wiping the Republicans off of the map in their redistricting efforts. Many of the GOP incumbents no longer live in their old district, and the Democrats did as much as they could to put GOP incumbents in districts where they would have to run against another Republican in a primary. Why not the outrage about that? It is hypocrisy at its best.

The other notable lawsuit against Republicans over Redistricting is a lawsuit from Mexican American Legislative Caucus. They are suing because they want non-citizens to be able to vote and they make the absurd claim that only Hispanics and African Americans can best serve Hispanics and African Americans. What an absurd claim. You vote for a person’s values, beliefs, and what they are going to do. You don’t vote for someone based on the color of their skin. That is racism. The truth is that most minority groups are actually conservative Republicans in their beliefs.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Government Tells Soldiers they Don't Have Freedom of Speech in Gay Debate - They say they want input from soldiers but they are not going to allow input

The Military is in the process of putting all American Soldiers through training in anticipation of the Governments repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. The repeal will allow openly gay people to serve in the Military.

I just learned this week that the Government is telling soldiers that they no longer have freedom of speech if they disagree with gays in the military, or even if they disagree with homosexuality in general.

Specifically, just this week in one of these “gay trainings” here in Texas, an Army JAG officer instructed the room full of soldiers that they will not be allowed to personally express any opinions against homosexuality or gays in the military unless they are in a religious service that has been announced in advance so that people can decide whether or not to attend the service. There will apparently be no more sitting at the chow hall and chatting with a buddy about each others personal opinions about this important topic because it might offend someone who passes by and hears you. You can fight for freedom of speech as a soldier but apparently you will no longer be allowed have freedom of speech as a soldier. There is something very wrong when soldiers who fight for freedom of speech will have their freedom of speech restricted. Soldiers of course have to have some speech restricted obviously when it comes to revealing sensitive of classified information, but they have always still been able to have their own personal freedom of speech when talking to fellow soldiers. Until Now I suppose.

Few soldiers have come out and said anything publicly about their displeasure with the repeal because, well, what soldier wants to openly disagree with the authority in charge and risk getting in trouble or looked down upon? I can tell you that, as a soldier, most of the fellow soldiers I have talked to are strongly against the repeal and many are not re-enlisting, not to mention the majority of combat troops who said they disagree with the repeal in the survey that the military did. I will write a separate article in the future about the problems that I believe the repeal will cause and the problems that I have already seen as a soldier in the military. For now, I am very worried that we soldiers will no longer have freedom of speech in the gay debate and I am worried that this is the just beginning of what is to come. My word, it was only last month that the Navy was going to allow gay marriages on military bases even though federal law does not recognize gay marriage!

I am in the military, I love the military, and I am serving faithfully fulfilling my duties in the military even though I disagree with this repeal. I fear though that politics might be starting to chip away at the very foundation of what has made the military great and so I must express my personal opinion on the issue. That strong foundation of the military is being threatened by political correctness. This article is my own personal opinion and does NOT represent any official opinion of the Army, nor does it reveal any sensitive or classified information. I simply am exercising my freedom of speech by expressing my fear that the military as we know it might be forever changed now that the door to political correctness is going to be swung wide open.



CLARIFICATION:



Part of the repeal of don’t ask don't tell is that the military must first see if there are going to be any problems as a result of the repeal. That requires soldiers having the freedom to say whether or not the repeal will cause problems for them of their unit. At the same time the government is saying that soldiers can’t speak out against homosexuality.... see the problem. The government says they want to hear from us but then at the same time they are telling us that we cannot say anything so when they do their report they will say that no soldiers are objecting to the repeal. I am not in favor of soldiers causing problems by going around just saying anything they want to other soldiers. But in this situation they want us to talk about the problems with gays in the military and at the same time they are telling us we cannot tell anyone about our personal opinions of gays in the military...

I certainly am not advocating for a majority rule in the military where we soldiers can tell the military what we want or don't want. I like the discipline and I like the structure and rank and the commanders calling the shots. That is what has made the military run effectively and efficiently. So please do not misunderstand what I am saying. I want the military to be run by the commanders.... In this repeal the commanders are getting pushed into doing something that they do not even want. The head of the Marines openly says this will hurt the military. So I am not advocating for the military to be run by us soldiers, to the contrary, I am advocating for the military to be run by the commanders and not by the minority who want to express their gayness or a judge who strikes down don't ask don't tell. The military is about uniformity and unit cohesion and having to take a shower with a guy who likes you is all about politics and not about what is best for the military. Gay people can serve in the military but they shouldn't tell the other soldiers they are gay because it would hurt unit cohesion and cause problems on the battlefield. Men and women have to shower in different bathrooms in the military because there would be problems if they didn't. How can you say there will be no problems with making gay guys and straight guys shower together. There will be problems.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Urgent: Texas Rangers and Federal Agents have Gun Batttle on Texas/Mexico Border - Send in the Troops Governor Perry!

Governor Perry Needs to get Obama to send more National Guard troops to the border now that there is proof to show Obama that the gun battles and drug violence has spilled over and are putting Americans in harms way. It is no longer random bullets coming over the border and now they are actually attacking Americans in America from the Mexico side of the border. It was only a couple weeks ago that Obama joked about the border being safe and said maybe we should put a moat with alligators...

The Texas Department of Public Safety has just announced that the Texas Rangers and Federal Agents came under HEAVY FIRE from Mexico today.

According to Star News Online:

Few details about the early morning shootout in Hidalgo County were immediately available. The shootout began after U.S. agents patrolling in boats tried to seize a drug load on the Rio Grande, Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Tela Mange said.

Mange said she could not disclose whether any U.S. officers were struck or injured. She said the agents came under "heavy fire" but would not say how long the ensuing shootout lasted.


It was only a few weeks ago that I posted an exclusive video of a battle on the Texas/Mexico border. http://www.texasgopvote.com/restore-families/security/breaking-news-massive-battle-

I feared that it would only be a matter of time before the battles started to spill over onto the American side of the border..... it happened....

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

News Stations Report 30 Dead and Dismembered Children Found in Texas Mass Grave.... now they report there are no bodies after all...

UPDATE: A Psychic Psyched the nation.... New Reports say that No Bodies found after all... this news comes after the National News Reported that 30 Bodies of Children were found in Texas by the tip of a psychic... There is a reason I have never been to a psychic...

previous blog post about bodies found in Liberty County, Texas:


A tip has led authorities to a mass grave of up to 30 dismembered children in Liberty County, TX http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/cleveland/news/article_ffc9256e-9152-11e0-b10d-001cc4c002e0.html



Liberty County is a rural county in between Houston and Beaumont in southeast Texas.

As a southeast Texas native, I have driven through Liberty County many times. Just last year I went right by this location when I picked up a fellow Army National Guardsman to go to training. There is nothing but trees and fields in this part of Liberty County. It is shocking that something like this has been discovered so close to home.

Libety County has also recently been in the news for a shocking gang rape of an 11 year old girl in Cleveland, TX http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/19th-suspect-arrested-in-Cleveland-rape-of-1290549.php

The sick person who did this must be found, tried and brought to Justice.