Friday, September 30, 2011

Like the Alaska Oil Pipeline, Keystone XL Pipeline Will Help Texas and Not Cause Damage (Pictures)

Texas Republican Leaders say that the Keystone XL Oil Pipeline has passed all environmental reviews and will bring money and jobs to Texas
There was recently a United States State Department hearing in Port Arthur, TX regarding the proposed building of the Keystone XL Pipeline that will bring tar sand oil from Canada all the way down to refineries right here in southeast Texas.
Not surprisingly, most of the people in the large crowd at the meeting were in favor of the pipeline. Some were against it, including a person who claimed that the pipeline would cause people of color to be negatively impacted. Not sure where that idea came from, but there have been many black Republican Elected officials who have stood up in favor of the Keystone XL Pipeline (see below)
The Beaumont Enterprise reported that the meeting was more of a pro-pipeline rally. Many Texas Elected Leaders were at the meeting to support the pipeline. Republican Texas State Rep. James White, whose district includes Angelina, Trinity and San Jacinto counties, was at the meeting and he noted that the agency had already assessed the environmental impact and said he wanted to see the permitting process expedited.
"This is why people are frustrated with government," he said to applause from a crowd numbering around 500. "We need jobs.”
At a different United States Department of State Hearing in Austin, TX, Republican County Commissioner Greg Parker testified on behalf of the Keystone XL Pipeline.
His more important remarks were his remarks about the money and jobs the pipeline will bring to Texas:
“We expect to see 7,000 manufacturing jobs, 13,000 construction jobs, and 118,000 spinoff jobs related to the design and management of the Keystone XL pipeline. This is exactly the kind of economic boost the federal government has tried to do with the American Recovery Act and is again prepared to pay hundreds of billions of our tax dollars to achieve, yet they have not given this privately-funded venture permission to begin.
In Texas, the Keystone XL pipeline would mean gains of $1.6 billion in private investment, $2.3 billion in total business expenditures, $2 billion in gross output. Local governments would eventually receive a total of $1.1 billion in new property tax revenue.
It makes no sense to delay a project of this magnitude any longer. The State Department's own environmental review has found no support for opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline based on fears of ecological damage. In these perilous economic times, it would simply be foolish to pass on an opportunity like the Keystone XL.”

The Alaska Oil Pipeline Has Proven to be a Success!
Although there are many in favor of the Keystone XL Pipeline, there are also some who are against the pipeline. This reminds me of the opposition to the Alaska Oil Pipeline.
A few decades ago there was a highly publicized resistance to the building of the Oil Pipeline in Alaska. Some of the biggest reasons against the Alaska Pipeline were that it would damage the permafrost, an earthquake could cause it to open up and spill out, and that the pipeline would destroy the Caribou populations.
The truth is, the Caribou population has exploded in Alaska (they like the warmth of the pipeline), the pipeline has survived many earthquakes, and the pipeline is built above the ground and has no effect on the permafrost.
I went to Alaska a few summers ago as part of a Texas A&M University Student Exchange Program. Alaska sent some student to Texas and Texas sent some students to Alaska. I absolutely love God’s creations in nature and I was thrilled to get to go to Alaska where the raw beauty of nature is so evident. I have been to most National Parks in America and when I went to Alaska I drove so that I could camp out at National Parks all along the way to Alaska. I would never wish for widespread, intentional devastation of the environment. The fact is that Alaska’s Pipeline has not at all caused damage to the beauty of Alaska and it has created money and Jobs for Alaska. The pipeline runs through only a small percentage of a percentage of Alaska and the pipeline has not hurt the environment. In fact, I would never have been able to drive the 400 miles to the Arctic Ocean and see all the beauty of Alaska if it were not for the 400 mile service road that the pipeline built (the Dalton Highway).
So not only am I in favor of the Keystone XL Oil Pipeline, I am also in favor of drilling in the Alaska Wildlife refuge. The drilling area would be very small and they would drill in such a manner that it would not have an impact on the environment around them. I have been to the drilling fields in Alaska and I have seen that these oil fields do not bother the wildlife or the environment. What drilling in Alaska will do, just like building the Keystone XL Pipeline will do, is it would help the economy and help us break away from our dependence on Middle East foreign oil.

Below are pictures that I took of the Alaska Pipeline and the beauty of Alaska. I was able to experience it thanks to the road that was built beside the pipeline.
Notice how the pipeline has not caused any destruction to the environment it is in and the Caribou were easily spotted.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Another Texas Soldier Dies in Afghanistan – Deaths Rise under Obama but No Media Outrage (Death Chart)

I just found out that a fellow soldier, and fellow resident of Lumberton, TX, David Drake, has been killed in Afghanistan. My prayers are with his family and his great sacrifice will be remembered.

Deaths and Injuries in Afghanistan are Rising Drastically under Obama – Where is the Media Outrage?
What really gets me upset is that when Bush was in office there were daily news updates and media outrage over deaths and injuries of soldiers. Well now, there are HUNDREDS more soldiers getting killed in Afghanistan per year under Obama than under Bush. Does the media not care about the deaths of soldiers anymore? Where is the outrage? Where are the daily updates from the media?
The Media bias is sickening. They bashed Bush for the war deaths under his Administration and now they do not seem to care that the deaths have risen drastically under Obama’s Administration.
The following chart from icasualities.org paints a saddening picture of the rise in deaths under Obama:

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Obama Fought for Mexican Killer in Texas – Won’t Fight for Christians facing Execution Worldwide

by, David Bellow
Obama Fought to Stop the Execution of a Mexican National who Raped and Killed a Young Girl in Texas

Earlier this year, the Obama Administration fought to stop Texas from executing a Mexican National, Humberto Leal Garcia, who raped and killed a young girl in Texas. There was no question that Garcia raped and killed this girl and it is out of the ordinary for the United States Government to get involved in a State Capital Murder case.

Still, the Obama Administration tried to stop the Texas execution of this murder. The Obama Administration said that executing this Mexican National would “irreparable harm” to US – Mexico relations.

Ted Cruz, who is running for United States Senate, was the Solicitor General for Texas at the time and fought against the Obama Administration’s infringement upon the State Sovereignty of Texas. Ted Cruz went to the United States Supreme Court and beat Obama on this issue.

Obama Has Said Nothing to Iran to Try to Stop Them From Killing a Pastor Simply because he Believes in Jesus Christ

update: The White House has finally spoken out against the execution of the pastor in Iran. It is amazing what all the press coverage will do. The war against Christianity still continues and Obama needs to take a strong stance against it like when he tried to help the Mexican Killer in Texas and like he has stood for allowing gays in the military

Just today I read a Fox News article about an Iranian Pastor, Yousef Nadarkhani, who is sentenced to death and is to be executed soon, simply because he believes in Jesus Christ. WHAT!? Why are we just hearing about this? Why has no one stood up and pleaded for Iran to stop this unjust execution. Just this morning (9/28/11) Republican Speaker of the House, John Boehner, sent a letter to Iran denouncing Iran’s pending execution of this man. Nothing has come out from the Obama Administration about this execution. Obama has no problem getting involved in Mexican affairs and trying to stop the execution of a murderer, but he will not open his mouth to say that it is wrong to execute a man simply because he believes in Jesus Christ.

More Christians Have Been Killed in the United States and Worldwide in 20th Century than Ever Before in History

While leftists and the Obama Administration are focused on allowing gays to serve openly in the military and forcing every American to purchase private healthcare, there have been more serious issues of intolerance and persecution against Christians. Remember the Columbine School Shooting when the gunman shot a girl simply because she would not deny Christ? Remember the Texas church where a gunman killed several people? That is happening right here in America. The liberals are mute when it comes to standing up against intolerance towards Christianity. In fact, the liberals, who speak of intolerance, are themselves intolerant of Christians. They want to keep people from praying at a funeral, they want to take historical crosses down at memorials, and they even punish kids in school for simply believing that homosexuality is wrong. They believe that everyone has a right to believe whatever they want to believe, except for Christians of course who should never express their beliefs in public.

That is just in America. Worldwide, there are Christians being sent to prison, tortured and executed, simply because they believe in Jesus Christ. Where is the outrage? More Christians have been killed in the modern 20th Century than in the entire history of Christianity. There are dozens of countries where Christianity, and even owning a bible, is banned.

Voice of the Martyrs keeps track of many of these individuals who are in prison or have been killed as a result of their faith in Jesus Christ. This Iran pastor facing execution is not just an isolated incident. It is the tip of a very large Iceberg. Christians are being killed worldwide simply because of their faith. In America, Christians are facing more intolerance and restrictions every year. Will America, which was founded on Religious Freedom, one day start persecuting Christians, like other countries, simply because they openly believe in Christ? I hope not, but I am not surprised by anything anymore in this day and age. It seems like every day there is a new story of an attack against Christianity in America. I even recently read about a California couple getting fined for having a bible study at their private home! What are they going to do if they keep holding the Bible study? Are they going to arrest them?

The war against Christianity is real people. It is real and people are dying.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Southeast Texas Father Heroically Saves 350lb Stranger from Fiery Car Accident

Here are Pictures of the Tragic accident. You can see the Cement Truck where my dad pulled the man away from

With no concern of his own safety, and injuring his back in the process, my father heroically, and with seemingly super strength, drug this 350lb man through diesel and cement and away from the burning vehicle and pools of fuel.
9/24/11
This morning my father, Mike Bellow from Lumberton, TX, was driving down a winding Texas highway near Devers, TX/Raywood, TX. The sun was coming up in his rear view mirror and was bright red. He was driving behind a concrete truck filled with a full load. As they passed around a curve, a truck driving on the opposite direction did not turn around the curve and crashed straight into the concrete truck. He possibly could not see because of the rising sun. The smaller truck and the cement truck seemed to disintegrate on impact. There was nothing recognizable of either vehicle.
My father swerved into the grass to avoid the accident. The smaller truck was not recognizable as a truck and was on fire. The person in that smaller truck had surely died on impact. My father believed that the driver of the concrete truck was surely dead as well.
My young brother, Stephen, was in the car with my father. He asked if everyone was ok. My father told him that the people in the cars had died. That is when my brother pointed to the accident and asked, “what about that guy in the big truck?”
Sure enough, the driver of the concrete truck was still alive. My father did not even turn his car off. He jumped out and ran as fast as he could to the cement truck.
The man in the concrete truck was over 350 pounds and could not move because of broken legs and hips.
The smaller truck was on fire and was exploding. My father was standing in a pool of extremely flammable fuel and 6 inches of cement. It was only a matter of time before the concrete truck goes up in flames.
With no concern of his own safety, and injuring his back in the process, my father heroically, and with seemingly super strength, drug this 350lb man through diesel and cement and away from the burning vehicle and pools of fuel. They were both covered in fuel and blood and the man that my father was dragging begged to be taken further away from the fire so my dad drug him even further away, into the grass.
It is not know what the condition is of the man that my father saved, but one thing is certain, my father is a hero and did not think of his own life as he saved the life of another.
My prayers are with this man that he recovers and I thank God for allowing my father to be in the position to, and giving him the bravery to help this man.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Does TX Senator Whitmire Care about Last Meals or Does He Want Black Votes? Are Hate Crime Laws Racist?

by, David Bellow

Houston, Texas Democrat, State Senator John Whitmire has written a letter to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Director, Brad Livingston, demanding that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice end the practice of giving death row inmates a last meal request before their execution.

Senator Whitmire asked for the practice to be stopped in response to the ridiculous last meal request of Lawrence Brewer, a white supremacist, who was executed this week for killing a black man, James Byrd Jr., in Jasper, TX.

I have no problem with ending last meals. These guys are murderers, who did not give their victims a last meal. They get too much in prison as it is anyway. These extra perks that inmates get strain the prison's time and resources. Earlier this year, I wrote an article explaining how David Puckett broke out of Stiles Maximum Security Prison in Beaumont, Texas, and I explained the problems in this Texas Prison that led up to the escape, including strained resources because the inmates get too many things in Prison.

So I do not have a problem with Senator Whitmire’s decision to ask TDCJ to stop last meals. I do have a problem with the timing and motive of Senator Whitmire.

Senator Whitmire has been the chairman of the Texas Senate Criminal Justice Committee for several years and there have been ridiculous last meal requests every year that Senator Whitmire has been the chair of this committee.

According to Fox News, just last week, Texas Death Row inmate Steven Woods' last meal request included two pounds of bacon, a large four-meat pizza, four fried chicken breasts, two drinks each of Mountain Dew, Pepsi, root beer and sweet tea, two pints of ice cream, five chicken fried steaks, two hamburgers with bacon, fries and a dozen garlic bread sticks with marinara on the side. Steven Woods robbed and killed 2 people.

So why end the meals after Brewer’s ridiculous request? Why now? Why not end it years ago when Senator Whitmire became chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee? Did Senator Whitmire JUST figure out that inmates are asking for silly last meals? Is he that unintelligent that he does not know what goes in in Texas prisons even though he is the head of that senate criminal justice committee?

Of course he is not unintelligent and he knows that these ridiculous last meals have been going on for years. He has just never said anything before.

So why is he finally standing up against this practice? It is simple. He sees an opportunity to get some positive press and win points with black voters.

Brewer’s execution was a very high profile execution with lots of media attention. It was an especially important execution for black organizations like the NAACP because Brewer killed a black man. That dragging-death murder led to the Texas Legislature enacting Hate Crime legislation.

With all the media attention surrounding this execution, and the eyes of black voters watching the news reports of Brewers execution, this was Senator Whitmire’s opportunity to get some national attention and win points with black voters.

So Senator Whitmire wrote a letter to the TDCJ Director, acting all surprised that Brewer, a white supremacist, got a last meal request. Senator Whitmire made a big scene and demanded that the last meals stop or else he will pass legislation next session to stop it.

Well Senator Whitmire, you had many years to write legislation to stop it, but you never did. TDCJ immediately stopped the last meal requests when they got your letter, so why didn’t you send them a letter years ago? It was only when an opportunity arose to get some national media attention and approval points from black voters that you acted surprised that this was happening and demanded that it stop.


Texas Hate Crime Legislation is Discriminatory and was Passed to End Bad Press and Get Black Votes after James Byrd Jr. was Killed in Jasper, TX

Murder is murder. I don’t care if you are a white guy who kills a black guy or if you are a black guy who killed a white guy. Like Texas Governor Rick Perry said at a Republican Presidential Debate, if you come into Texas and you kill someone, then we are going to execute you (paraphrased). Murder is horrendous and wrong regardless of the color of one’s skin. It is wrong to say that one person’s life is more important than another person’s life simply based on the color of the murdered person’s skin. Hate crime legislation does just that. Hate crime legislation says that the rape and murder of a little girl is somehow less important that the murder of a black man by a white man. Both of the murders killed someone and they both should be dealt with using the strongest penalties allowed. In my opinion, every murder is a hate crime.

We need to break down the walls of using race as a determining factor in America. Whether it is college admissions or a job application, race should never be a factor. Like Martin Luther King Jr. once said, people should be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. Having race as a determining factor in any area of government simply keeps racism alive.

I don’t dislike Obama based on the color of his skin. I dislike Obama because I disagree with his policy. One of my good friends is Black, Republican Texas State Representative James White. James White is a strong conservative, and I fully supported him when he ran last year. I didn’t care if he was Black, Hispanic, or Chinese. I cared about what he stood for. We should all be color blind like that. We need to take race out of the equation and judge people based on who they are, not what color they are. Especially in voting, people should vote for someone based on what the person believes and not the color of the person’s skin.

Politicians want votes, and they do not want bad press. When Brewer killed James Byrd Jr. in Jasper, TX the media swarmed Jasper and said that East Texas is full of racial hatred and demanded that legislators do something. The legislators responded by passing a hate crimes bill. The hate crimes bill was to stop the bad press and win votes. In reality, hate crimes legislation really does not do anything except say that one person getting murdered is worse than another person getting murdered. Murder is the worst thing that can happen to an innocent victim, no matter what color the victim’s skin, is and all murder victims should be dealt with at the same level of seriousness no matter what color their skin is.


Same thing with Anti-Gay Bullying Laws

The same thing is happening when a homosexual kid is bullied at school. Many gay rights advocates are pushing for anti-bullying laws that specifically reference anti-gay bullying. Even President Obama has appointed a Homosexual Activist to a top post in the Department of Education. Kevin Jennings will oversee “safety” in schools. Maybe Jennings should try teaching students that homosexual sex is not safe considering that Homosexuals make up the majority of new Aids/HIV cases in America each year!

I am all for state and local laws that punish bullies in schools, but there is no need to make a law specifically against gay bullying. Why is it worse when a gay guy gets bullied than when a straight guy gets bullied? I bet there are more heterosexuals bullied in schools overall than homosexuals. My point is, Bullying is bullying no matter who is getting bullied, and it is wrong and there should be no tolerance for bullying of any kind. Gay rights advocates are just trying to push their agenda into schools. California is even creating mandatory homosexual education in schools! What happened to math and science? Maybe that is what is wrong with California’s economy.


Current Racial Divide in Jasper, TX after Black Council Members Discriminate Against White Applicants in Hiring of New Police Chief

The President of the Jasper NAACP, Billy Ray Robinson, was recently arrested in connection with the arrest of his son who was busted in a school zone with drugs. But that is not the big buzz in the town of Jasper.

The big buzz right now is that the City of Jasper, TX is currently faced with many lawsuits and recall elections over claims of racial discrimination. No, the city is not run by a bunch of white people who are discriminating against black people. It is actually the opposite. The city is run by mostly black leaders, and these black leaders have been accused of discriminating against white people. Earlier this year, the Jasper TX City Council hired a Black Police Chief. I don’t have a problem with that. The problem is that this new black police chief seems to have been hired in a backroom deal by the black city council members based on his race and not his qualifications. Rodney Pearson was at the bottom of the city’s hiring list. He was the least qualified and has a criminal record. The white applicants who were more qualified but passed up for the job have filed lawsuits of racial discrimination against the City of Jasper. The white Police Officers in the Jasper Police Department were demoted and even fired by Pearson when Pearson was hired. The City Council faces several recall elections due to these accusations of racial discrimination in the hiring of this new Police Chief. In response, the council gave Pearson a $5000 pay raise. Pearson has only been hired for 6 months and City policy states that all city employees are ineligible for a pay raise until after their first year. This is not just my opinion. Even the Beaumont Enterprise wrote an Editorial condemning the Jasper City Council for their actions.

What is the solution to all these problems in this article? We just need to stop judging people based on the color of their skin and start judging people based on the content of their character. We need to stop the political games of trying to win votes from certain groups. And we need to come together and break these racial divides that we have kept alive through reverse discrimination practices like hate crime laws.

Attack on 1st Amendment and Religion – Texas School Punishes Boy for Opposing Homosexuality

by, David Bellow

I recently wrote an article about the war that is raging against religion in America. From crosses being banned at historical memorials to the government banning prayers at funeral services of fallen soldiers, there is literally an all out war against religion. It is unconstitutional and goes against everything that America was founded on. Even the founding fathers openly practiced and encouraged religion expression in America.

200 years after the founding fathers practiced religion it is a completely different story. The freedom to practice religion in America is being scaled back to the point that there is an all-out attack on even personal religious beliefs.


This Student, Dakota Ary, is an honor student at Western Hills High School. His 9th Grade German teacher was talking about homosexuality for some reason in the German class. That is when Dakota Ary mentioned to his friend sitting next to him that he is a Christian and believes that homosexuality is wrong. The teacher overheard this and got very angry and started yelling.

First of all, why is this German teacher talking about homosexuality in class? This teacher has a history of talking about homosexuality to students and even posted a picture of two guys kissing on the wall in the class room. This teacher is the one who should be sent home, not the student!

This student has every constitutional right to have a personal and religious belief against homosexuality. He even has the right to express his belief to a classmate, especially during a class discussion about homosexuality. This student was not picking on anyone and was not saying anything in a hateful manner. The kid even has homosexual friends. Dakota Ary just believes that homosexuality is wrong and he has the right to express that belief just as a homosexual has the right to be homosexual if the/she wants.


It is all just silly and it is a part of a greater issue that is the war against Conservative, Christian beliefs. Schools are part of the battleground because liberals know that they can have a big impact on the thoughts and beliefs of their students.

Even President Obama has appointed a Homosexual Activist to a top post in the Department of Education. Kevin Jennings will oversee “safety” in schools. Maybe Jennings should try teaching students that homosexual sex is not safe considering that Homosexuals make up the majority of new Aids/HIV cases in America each year!

No wonder why homeschooling and voucher programs/charter school have become so popular in America.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Texas Union Says Companies are Purposely Keeping Unemployment Low – Also, Union Violence & Spending Stats

by, David Bellow

Gary Fuselier, staff representative for United Steelworkers 13-423 in Southeast Texas said, “It is in a Company’s best interest to keep employment down until after the November 2012 election.”


Union Boss Says Businesses Are Intentionally not Hiring so that Obama will Lose Re-Election

Given the cozy relationship that Unions have with Obama and the Democrats, It is no surprise that unions are currently protecting their Democrat buddies from backlash over the bad economy. Unions are viciously and openly attacking Republicans, Tea Party members and Businesses.

Just a couple of weeks ago I was reading the Beaumont Enterprise and I was shocked at a statement that was made by a local Union Leader.

Gary Fuselier, staff representative for United Steelworkers 13-423 in Southeast Texas said, “It is in a Company’s best interest to keep employment down until after the November 2012 election.” Wow, so this union leader says that businesses are intentionally not hiring to get back at Obama? That is just silly. Businesses are always trying to grow and expand their business. If a business is not growing their business it is most likely because they cannot do it or they are afraid to do it.

Unions are actually the reason why many businesses cannot afford to expand and hire new employees. For example, Boeing recently built a new factory in South Carolina that employs over 1000 people. Unions want this factory shut down and the employees fired simply because Boeing built the factory in a state without Unions instead of a state with Unions. This is ridiculous. Unions are blaming companies for not hiring when it is really the unions that are keeping unemployment high. Businesses are afraid to expand or they cannot afford to because of all the union strings attached. This Union’s actions are so outrageous that a Republican US House of Representatives has recently stepped in and passed a bill that protects Boeing from this Union’s attacks. The bill will never get signed by Obama, but it sheds national light on the outrageous and job destroying actions of Unions.

Unions and History of Violence: Also, Union President Declares War Against Conservatives

Since 1975, the National Institute for Labor Relations Research has collected more than 9,000 reports of union violence.

I knew that Unions used violence to try to force their views, but I had no idea that Unions have committed so many acts of violence!

Recently, the Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa made national news headlines when he declared war against conservatives by saying, “"President Obama, this is your army, we are ready to march. But everybody here's got to vote. If we go back, and keep the eye on the prize, let's take these son-of-a-bitches out."

It is not surprising to know that Teamsters has committed the most violent acts of all Unions.

Unions Take Your Money and Spend it on Obama, even though you don’t like Obama! Dems got over $600 million from Unions since 1990.

Besides Hoffa’s statement being obviously violent in nature by comparing the union members to be an army for Obama, this statement by the Teamsters President also reveals a major problem with Unions today. Being a part of a Union today means your money and resources are put into the hands of the select few who lead the Unions. If you are in a Union and do not like President Obama, too bad! Your money and even your very self are now counted as part of an army to support Obama. Jimmy Hoffa has pledged to Obama your money and your vote. Unions no longer work for the people. Union members are pawns of a select few who have a political agenda which you have no say in.



Wisconsin Unions almost Destroyed Wisconsin’s economy – Wisconsin fought back!

Unions now-a-days seem to do more damage than good. The Wisconsin economy was in a stranglehold. They were facing a 3 billion dollar shortfall. They could not fire bad teachers or reward the good ones and were forced into unreasonable expenses. For example, a Wisconsin teacher was fired for looking at porn in school and having pictures of students in bikinis. The Union fought the decision to fire the teacher. It was a 3 year court battle that cost the school district nearly $300,000. The Republican Wisconsin Legislature decided it was time to end this nonsense and took the bold step forward to remove them from the Union stranglehold. The Wisconsin Union teachers set horrible examples and wrote false sick notes to skip school so they could protest, but still the Wisconsin legislature was successful in limiting Union power over the government. Now the Wisconsin Legislature is looking at a surplus of 300 Million dollars and the school districts have greater control over managing their teacher. This includes greater flexibility to give raises to good teacher and discipline bad teachers.


Unions Lost their Purpose, Now trying to Re-Invent Themselves

I am a Federal Law Enforcement Officer and there is a Union at my place of employment. I am not a member. Unions once had a good purpose but times have changed. There is no slave/child labor anymore and there are safety codes that must be followed. The Unions have lost their purpose so they have had to reinvent their purpose in order to keep their members paying dues.

The new purpose of Unions (in order to keep membership up) is two-fold; to offer nice benefits (like discounts, legal representation,  and social events), and to scare employees into thinking that the boss is out to get them and they have to be a part of the union or they will surely be fired.

In fact, at my previous place of employment (no I was not fired by a bad boss, I just went to greener pastures) I was shocked when the local Union president tried to get us to sign up by bragging about getting bad officers back on the job after they had been caught running a crime ring on the job. I stood up and asked why in the world would I want to support an organization that puts my life on the line by keeping bad officers employed? Even just recently, a Texas Union fought to try to get an officer back behind a badge in Orange, TX. This officer, Captain Robert Arnold, shot and killed an unarmed war veteran, James Whitehead, over a racial slur.

Still, even with the attempts to re-invent themselves, many people are leaving Unions. They are waking up to the realization that Unions just don’t do anything for them anymore, especially for the high priced dues they pay. This has caused Unions to have to become stronger in their rhetoric and more publically lash out to stir up fears of employees.


Unions Have Aligned Themselves with Democrats to Survive

Unions are on the decline and so they have had to recruit political support in order to get laws passed to secure the future of unions. Since Unions really do not care much about the employer, the Democrat Party was the obvious political party to align themselves with. The Unions support the Democrats and the Democrats turn around and pass, or attempt to pass, laws favorable to the Unions. Unions rake in money from union members to spend on Democrat Candidates who make lavish promises of law changes, free handouts, and promises to crack down on “greedy employers.”


This has resulted in many favors and perks that Democrats have given to Unions. Much of the Obama stimulus money (American Tax Dollars) was directed to union related projects and many unions even got a waiver from having to be a part of Obama’s health care mandate.


The Members in a Union are not the Enemy, in Fact, Many of them are Great People

Most of the Union members that I work with are great people and great co-workers.  They have only joined the Union because everyone else is a member or they think that they have to be a member because they could get fired if they do not join forces with the Union. Some of them just want to help out their fellow co-workers and they are misguided into believing that being part of a Union and paying dues is the best way that they can help their fellow employees. The truth is that you do not have to pay dues to an organization to be able to help others. I even have a good conservative friend who dislikes Unions but is a member of one because that is the only way that he could get hired at the company he now works for. I also know some Union members who are near retirement and they are Union members because they just always have been, similar to many old conservative Democrats who will not switch to Republican even though their Party has left them.

So even though I wrote this article bashing Unions, I am not necessarily bashing the members. I know many union members who are great people. They just, for some reason or another, have fallen into the union trap. They are pawns of a political game and they do not even realize it, or maybe they do realize it but they really do not have a choice but to be a part of the union.

Also, this article is not an indictment against the many Associations that are out there. There are many Associations out there that do not go after employers and instead they do things like set up funds for fallen or injured law enforcement, have social events, and help people come together to enjoy discounted benefits. There is nothing wrong with those kinds of organizations.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Update: Federal Appeals Court Overturns Order Against Silsbee Rape Case Victim's

By, David Bellow


Federal Appeals Court Overturns Order Against Silsbee Rape Case Victim's

Flashback:

Earlier this year I wrote an article about how a local newspaper editor, Gerry Dickert of the Silsbee Bee, downplayed a child rape case even after the assailant plead guilty to assault.

This case made national headlines because this victim was told that she had to cheer for her assailant at a basket ball game of be kicked off of the team. The school wanted the girl to yell "put it in!" when her assailant was at the free throw line. The victim simply decided not to cheer when he was on the free throw line but did everything else she was required to do as a cheerleader. The school kicked her off of the team.

The Jasper NAACP even got involved and pulled the race card because the NAACP President, Billy Ray Robinson, was unethically trying to get his great nephew off of the hook for for assaulting the minor girl. Interestingly enough, Billy Ray Robinson was just recently arrested in connection with his son being arrested in a drug bust in a school zone.

The victim's family sued Silsbee ISD and Silsbee High School saying that the school violated her free speech. The court ruled that she is a mouthpiece for the school and therefore does not have freedom of speech as a cheerleader for the school.

Regardless of whether or not the victim has the freedom of speech as a cheerleader at a school game, the school still acted rashly and without any heart. They could have tried to work things out. I am sure this victim could have been allowed to participate in the many other activities that cheerleaders do but be excused from having to cheer at games that her alleged assailant played in. The school says that he was not convicted of anything so she should cheer for him, but still, a situation where you have a player accused of raping a cheerleader should be handled with a little more delicately and with more consideration.

The thing that really grabbed national attention was not that she lost the lawsuit but that the lower court ruled that it was a frivolous lawsuit and order the victim to pay the school about $40,000. Really!? Suing a clothes cleaning business for 400 million because they ruined a pair of your pants is frivolous. This Silsbee Rape Case had legitimate questions that needed a court to answer.

Just today, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled that the lower court erred in deciding that the case was frivolous and freed the victim from having to pay the school.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Ted Cruz for Texas United States Senate Releases his Jobs and Growth Agenda

by, David Bellow






The following is a letter that I received from Ted Cruz in which he outlines his jobs and growth agenda if he wins the 2012 Senate Race.


I encourage everyone to research all candidates and choose your own candidate. I have seen or researched every candidate and I personally support Ted Cruz for Texas United States Senator. There are many great candidates, but Ted Cruz has the most rock solid, proven record to back up his beliefs so you don't have to wonder if he is just saying something to get elected. He has the ability and the guts to stand up and not compromise. He has even fought for conservative principles in the United States Supreme Court and won cases like keeping the 10 commandments at the Texas Capital, keeping God in the Pledge, and winning a State's Rights case against Obama! Those victories do not even scratch the surface of Ted Cruz's Proven Record and Conservative Victories. 
Ted Cruz has received huge endorsements from Strong Conservatives like Senator Rand Paul, Senator Jim Demint, David Barton Founder of Wallbuilders, and Former Chairmen of the Republican Party of Texas. He has also received endorsements from FreedomWorks, Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee, Red State and the Club for Growth — as well as the affirmation of conservative heavyweight and radio talk show host Mark Levin.


Letter from Ted Cruz on his Jobs and Growth Agenda:
 
This week—nearly three years into his presidency—President Obama will propose his long awaited “jobs agenda.” Unfortunately, it will likely consist of yet another re-hash of the same big-government “stimulus” programs that have consistently failed to generate jobs.

Government doesn’t create jobs. The private sector—entrepreneurs risking capital to meet a demonstrated need—creates jobs. But government can kill jobs.

And the Obama Administration has waged an unrelenting war on jobs, perhaps not deliberately, but out of an ideological zealotry and dedication to big government and central control of the economy.

As a result, our economy languishes and millions are unemployed. Historically, growth in the U.S. has averaged roughly 3% per year. In 2011, we are at 0.7%—one quarter the historical average. And unemployment is 9.1%, the highest in 28 years. If you count discouraged workers, unemployment is at 16.1%—which means 25.1 million Americans are tragically out of work today.

The federal government is addicted to regulation and spending. No domestic policy matters more than stopping the Obama Administration’s war on jobs, and unleashing the private sector to create growth and new jobs.

As a candidate for U.S. Senate, I propose 12 specific steps. The first six are defensive, stopping the Obama war on jobs, and the next six are pro-active, unleashing the private sector:

1) Repeal ObamaCare. This Administration, over the vocal opposition of a large majority of the American people, jammed through a 2,000-page bill that puts us on the path to government control of 1/6 of the economy. If ObamaCare stays in place, it will wreak havoc in the healthcare industry, reduce care levels, increase scarcity, and put government bureaucrats between patients and their doctors. And, the massive cost and uncertainty it has imposed on small business is crippling job creation. My first bill in the Senate will be to repeal every word of ObamaCare.

2) Kill Cap and Trade. The Obama Administration has relentlessly pushed, in cap and trade, the largest energy tax in history, which would take thousands of dollars from every family in America. Unable to pass it through Congress, the EPA is attempting to bypass Congress and force cap and trade on Americans by adopting back-door regulations. We must stop both efforts now.

3) Stop the National Labor Relations Board from Attacking Jobs in Right-to-Work States. Currently, the NLRB is trying to force Boeing to fire thousands of workers from its factory in Charleston because South Carolina is a right-to-work state. Incredibly, the NLRB’s position is that, if Boeing closed the plant and moved all the jobs overseas, that would be fine, but it cannot employ U.S. workers in manufacturing jobs unless they are subject to union bosses and pay mandatory union dues. This makes no sense, and must stop.

4) Revoke the Offshore Drilling Moratorium. The Obama Administration unilaterally imposed a blanket moratorium on drilling, which a federal court subsequently found was contrary to federal law. Nonetheless, a de facto administrative moratorium remains, killing thousands of high-paying jobs and hindering economic growth in Texas and the entire Gulf Coast. It’s time to end the moratorium.

5) Restrain Abusive Environmental Enforcement. Currently, the Obama Administration is using the alleged presence of a lizard to try to stop oil and gas exploration in West Texas. Even more ominously, the EPA has launched “investigations” into hydraulic fracturing, a long-used drilling process that has recently unlocked vast new reserves in both natural gas and oil. These new American energy reserves are poised to create countless new jobs and drastically reduce our dependence on foreign energy supplies. But if the Obama Administration succeeds in banning hydraulic fracturing, tens of thousands of jobs will be lost and America will be left even more dependent on foreign dictators for our energy needs. We can and should vigilantly protect clean air and water while aggressively developing these new resources and new jobs.

6) Repeal Dodd-Frank. A law of massive complexity, Dodd-Frank does nothing to prevent future financial bailouts, but instead subjects the financial sector to costly new regulatory burdens—the cost of which invariably will be passed on to consumers. And its impact hits small community banks hardest. Reasonable government regulations are needed to protect the soundness and integrity of the marketplace, but they should not empower bureaucrats to micro-manage private sector institutions to the detriment of consumers.

7) Slash Corporate Tax Rates. Right now, U.S. corporations face the highest tax rate in the developed world, and they face double taxation if they invest their profits in America. As a result, American companies are today keeping over $2 trillion overseas. With over 25 million Americans out of a job, a tax policy that punishes new U.S. investments and factories is utterly nonsensical. We should cut corporate tax rates—to 15% immediately—to spur new investment and create new jobs in America.

8) Champion Tax Reform. The tax code is too complicated, the IRS too powerful, and lawyers and accountants too expensive. We should dramatically simplify the tax code and move as close as possible to a flat tax or to the Fair Tax.

9) Cut the Federal Budget and Reform Entitlements. Our federal budget is out of control, and broken entitlements are the largest portion of that budget. Under President Obama, federal debt has grown by over $4 trillion. At this pace, Obama will dump more debt on the American people than any other President in history. We need serious federal spending cuts—real cuts, not just decreases in the rate of growth—and fundamental entitlement reform to resolve the ever-growing debt crisis.

10) Rein in the Fed and Ensure Sound Money. Congress should pass Rep. Ron Paul’s bill to audit the Federal Reserve—so that it is subject to basic principles of accountability and transparency. We then should restrain the Fed’s “quantitative easing”—a fancy term for printing money—so that our currency isn’t further debased. Since 2008, gold has skyrocketed and the value of the dollar has plummeted creating a cruel tax on every consumer, saver, and investor. For long-term growth, we need sound money and a strong dollar.

11) Allow Small and Medium Companies To Opt out of Sarbanes-Oxley. Today, American businesses spend twice as much complying with needlessly burdensome regulations than they spend on income taxes. Complying with the audit requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley alone costs nearly $100,000 per business per year, a crushing burden for privately held startups seeking to go public. Since Sarbanes-Oxley, new listings on American stock exchanges have plummeted. We should at a minimum exempt small and medium-businesses from the unnecessary audit requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley, to restore an historic pillar of America’s prosperity: access to affordable public capital to expand businesses and create jobs.

12) Pass a Strong Balanced Budget Amendment. President Obama knows that nothing will have a greater long-term impact on limiting the size of the federal government than a Balanced Budget Amendment—so he pledged to veto any attempt to pass one. In 2013, with a new Senate and a new President in the White House, passing a strong Balanced Budget Amendment—with strict spending limitations (18 percent of GDP)—is absolutely vital.

President Obama’s speech this week will undoubtedly contain everything except what would actually create jobs, namely stopping the government’s war on the job creators. Obama’s vision of government treats entrepreneurs as the enemy in taxation, in spending, and in regulatory burden. For 25 million Americans and counting, the Obama agenda simply doesn’t work.

From now until the election, I will be talking every day about how economic freedom and limited government are the keys to liberty, prosperity, and job creation. If we remove government barriers to economic growth, and unleash private sector innovation, jobs will follow. It’s time to get America working again.

Ted Cruz served from 2003-08 as the Solicitor General of Texas. He is a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas. Learn more: 

Friday, September 9, 2011

NAACP President in Jasper, TX Arrested in Connection with Criminal Son Busted with Drugs in School Zone


Reverend Billy Ray Robinson, the President of the Jasper Area Chapter of the NAACP, was arrested today in connection with the drug arrest of his son Billy Robinson Jr., who was caught with drugs and a large amount of cash in a school zone. The Jasper Sheriff’s Department had been looking for Billy Ray Robinson since his son’s arrest. Earlier this year, Brandon Darby revealed that Billy Ray Robinson pulled the race card and unethically used the NAACP to try to protect his great nephew who had been charged with raping an underage cheerleader in Silsbee, TX. This relative, Rakheem Bolton, eventually pleaded guilty to assault. Additionally, I did some investigating and uncovered that Billy Ray Robinson’s businesses have had their existences forfeited because Robinson has apparently not paid the taxes for those businesses to the State of Texas. Even with their businesses having forfeited existences, Billy Ray Robinson has continued to operate those businesses. One of these forfeited businesses is a Bail Bond Company. How Ironic.

Jasper, TX is also in the news right now because 3 black City Council Members are being sued for discriminating and they also face a recall election for allegedly hiring Rodney Pearson as the Jasper Police Chief just because he is black. It is alleged that Rodney Pearson was hired in a backroom deal with the Black City Council Members based on the color of his skin because black community leaders desired to have a black man as Police Chief. Pearson is less qualified than the other white applicants for police Chief and Pearson even has a criminal record.