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speakupvictoria.com, Hey, I'm still speaking up! Dear speakupvictoria.com, I'm speaking up! Global Warming and computer modeling! Phil Gramm! Please shut up! Going to twist my County Commissioner's arm! C.A. Stubbs was president of Texas Association of Concerned Taxpayers! Texas state government is really a poorly run operation! So, Geanie Morrison, what will you do to stop the TTC? Should we really trust the Texas Department of Public Safety? TTC and uranium mining! I triple dog dare ya to read this one! October 07 November 07 December 07 January 08 February 08 March 08 April 08 May 08 June 08 July 08 
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Veritas! Latin for truth! Something you don't want getting in the way of your campaign to stop the Exelon Project!
No, Mr. Figer I am not a spokesman for Exelon. Exelon has not given me a dime or promised me anything! Neither has VEDC.
I have spoken out on behalf of this project, the ethanol plant, the Coleto Creek expansion, the Navigation District upgrades and the four year college because I believe I speak for the vast majority of the average working people in this area who're suffering right now!
We need these jobs and benefits! They will provide a small insulation against a national, state and local economy that's in deep trouble!
No one has promised me anything! You can read the paper through the threadbare blue uniforms I wear. My mother finally broke down today and bought me some socks and underwear! I have zero dollars in the bank and two over-burdened credit cards! I'm on disability from a serious thyroid illness that has left me unable to work in my craft as an electrician. I have a $14,000 surgery upcoming. I get $1076 per month on the 3rd and it's usually gone by the 5th! I'm wearing a pair of shoes I bought at a resale shop two years ago. I have one good suit that I'm going to get married in. My truck needs $1000 worth of work and my teeth need $5000, yet I've spent well over $300 researching, producing, copying and distributing two well-researched reports on this project and Generation III nuclear technology in general. No one asked me to do this, it's just something I do well. I'm doing this because it's the right thing to do! People respect what I have to say because I have a 30 year reputation of doing my homework before I speak!
I answered all the questions on your website, posted them on my blog and you have remained silent! You've had three opportinities to speak up in a public forum and ask questions. You decided to keep quiet! You have decided to sit back and throw rocks from behind the scenes instead of standing up in a crowd and asking your questions! And what ignorant questions your website questions are. I support the project and I could ask better antagonistic questions than you're doing! Argumentum ad ignorantiam! Ms. McMaster has so much more courage than you!
I shall await the publishing of your press conference today with excited anticipation!
Veritas! Veritas! Veritas!
No, Mr. Figer, I'm not an Exelon spokesman!
No, Mr. Figer, I'm not a spokesman for Exelon!
I decided to republish my blog today to answer yet another of speakupvictoria.com's questions. "Why aren't other cities lining up to get a nuclear plant?"(paraphrased) Well, the answer to that question is very simple! Not many other cities have the surplus water needed for the project! To further answer that question; if Bay City weren't already in line for another unit at STNP they would happily slit our throats for the Exelon project! Just ask them! I also found it interesting that the two main spokesmen for this group are strangely silent and refuse to come out and speak up on this public forum! I'm certainly nothing to fear for these two well-heeled college graduates! Or do they fear the bloggers? Do they fear the people who have nothing better to do than sit back and prove them wrong! There are a lot of us out here that may want them to answer a few questions! Like, why is it they seem to have a we've got ours, the hell with the rest of you attitude? So here's your opportunity! speakupvictoria.com keeps asking questions in their advertising but remain silent every time a public opportunity is given to ask questions! Therefore I decided to answer some of their concerns! John and Bill,
Man you guys are making this easy! You are aware that Exelon was not even a corporation when the original tritium leak occurred. It's public knowledge. If you'd taken the opportunity you've been crying for to ask hard questions in public, you'd have found that Exelon bought people's land from them to mitigate this leak on a plant they purchased. If you'd taken that golden opportunity to ask those questions you'd have learned that because of Exelon's efforts to install and operate a rigorous new groundwater testing system at all their plants they found tritium at another plant they bought and are cleaning up that site as you read this on a leak they didn't even cause!
But no! You sat back and smugly remained silent! That way you can continue to sit back and throw rocks! This is indeed the third opportunity you've passed up to ask your hard questions in public.
If you had bothered to ask those questions you keep talking about you'd have learned months ago that the plant will not require near the 75,000 a/f of water GBRA promised them. You would have also found out that I personally warned them about GBRAs reputation and they were doing their own independent studies anyway! You would have also learned that they plan a 105,000 a/f reservoir with a possible addition to that and that their engineers have already figured in evaporation rates and seepage back in to the aquifer! You would have also learned that the actual seepage rate from the cooling pond will exceed the amount of groundwater needed for the plant creating a net increase to the aquifer!
If you had bothered to come to the Exelon presentation at the groundwater district months ago you'd have been able to ask public questions about anything you wanted! No! You weren't there. Neither did either of you attend any of the technical forums for the management plan. I made all but one!
"...wetlands, bays and estuaries...!" Hmmm, I've been nominated to serve on the stakeholder's group studying that very issue! Oops! You weren't there for that were you? The city, county, VEDC and private individuals nominated me to serve on this group. Where were you if you're so concerned about the bays and estuaries?
Is the site geologically sound? Would a national energy firm with a board and stockholders to answer to build a multi-billion dollar project without doing geological and hydrological studies and take core samples? No, and you know that because you are aware of the core samples and site work they are doing right now! Leaking into the groundwater! Hmmm! Yup, there will be seepage of cooling pond water back into the aquifer. However, if you'd bothered to show up at the groundwater district and ask you'd have learned that Exelon will be drilling a large number of monitor wells around the plant to check that very thing!
Yes, the plant will be 12 miles from Victoria. The greatest danger is that irrational, unreasonable and unfounded fear of nuclear technology will drive away the jobs and capitol investment that would help insulate Victoria from hard economic times! If you had spent the time and effort I have to research Generation III nuclear technology you'd know exactly how safe it is! If you'd spent the time I have building and installing some of the technology used in process safety you'd have no problem with it.
Ahhh! The "safety record of the technology!" Good question! If you'd bothered to do your homework you'd know that the new Advanced Boiling Water Reactors(ABWRs) are indeed very advanced. In fact, as I sit and write this, the Japanese are building three ABWR plants. The Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor(ESBWR) is even more advanced than those! It employs less pumps and piping and uses less nuclear fuel. Which technology are you asking about? The 30 to 50 year old technology used to build the last plant in the United States or the Generation III planned for Victoria? There are a number of ABWRs operating safely around the world.
It can easily be secured! Tell you what, you drive a bobtail truck down to the STNP plant in Bay City and make a run for the gate! Just leave a note on what to do with your body!
It's going to be very difficult for a nuclear accident to happen since the ESBWRs cooling water is stored directly above the reactor. Should the core overheat and crack the containment shell the cooling water drops down and drowns the core. Since the cooling water is indeed stored above the core, it is gravity fed to the core and does not have to rely on pumps to flood the core. Fewer pumps and less piping means less to go wrong or fail. In the nuclear industry the ESBWR is deemed "passively safe."
I fully expect nuclear waste to be recycled in coming years but storing it on site will certainly create no greater risk since it's stored in very secure concrete vaults. And considering the efficiency of nuclear power and especially the efficiency of the ESBWR it will take many years to build up even a small amount of spent nuclear fuel. In fact, the old reactors that have been running for 30 to 50 years all together have only produced enough spent fuel to cover one football field only seven yards deep. Let's see that's how many billions of KWHs for that miniscule amount of fuel? In all that time they have produced no green house gasses or particulate air pollution.
Intelligent people would indeed wonder about the reputation of a community that would not allow such a huge capitol investment! Perhaps anyone with such an irrational, unreasonable and unfounded fear of this technology should indeed live elsewhere! Let's not contaminate our gene pool with more ignorance!
Personally, I expect my property values to increase. That is, of course, unless uranium exploration starts within miles of my house.
"Will there be enough water for economic development?" I cannot believe you asked that! Bill Richter and I fought the Lower Guadalupe Water Supply Project in order to stop San Antonio from getting our water for their economic development and now that we indeed have a chance at economic development and a huge capitol investment, you come out and oppose it! And then have the audacity to say you're worried about economic development? Give me a break!
"The plant introduces economic risks without truly exploring alternative energy options!" "Truly" I believe it's your own lawyer, Jim Blackburn, who is presently suing to oppose a wind farm on Kenedy Ranch! The last time I checked wind power is a popular form of "alternative energy!" Perhaps your camp should get all your ducks in a row before speaking up!
There you go, Bill and John! "5 key questions!" I addressed them all. Try visiting Bill Harris at 114 N. Main! Sit down and he'll furnish all the technical data you need to answer your questions.
I'm going to post this on my Advocate blog so everyone in the area will be able to get in on this conversation!
And how is it related to Global Warming?
Having worked very hard to keep the water resources of Victoria County IN Victoria County for several years now I have become familiar with computer modeling. A computer model is an extrapolation of facts, assumptions and computations entered in to a computer in an effort to simulate a given set of results. Wikipedia describes a computer model as, “…a computer program or network of computers that attempts to simulate an abstract model of a particular system. Having been a part of the Technical Forum that created the computer model for the Desired Future Condition (DFC) of our aquifer, I was able to have input on what information was fed into the model. This computer model was needed to help our water conservation district create the district’s management plan required for all districts by the state. In the case of our district’s DFC there were certain hard data used and this was added to common assumptions and the DFC was formed. The old adage, “Garbage in-garbage out!” still works here. The more hard data input into the model the more accurate the model is! That is the reason our district has asked for volunteers around the county to allow the district to test and measure their wells. Therefore an evenly spaced group of data can be added to the model increasing it’s accuracy. So, after enough data is gathered, the model becomes less extrapolation and a better picture of the amount of water we have and the true DFC. More actual data-less assumption! Now that we have an idea of what a computer model is, let’s discuss global warming. If you listen carefully to those who constantly warn of this projected disaster or that terrible scenario, they almost always talk about the computer modeling that has been done that is projecting or predicting those terrible things to happen. Now listen carefully please! Worse yet, I had no trouble digging up the documented information that debunks much of what the extremist environmentalists scream about every day. I can scream about the documentation proving them wrong all I want but they have believed this garbage for so long it’s become almost a religion to them. Many don’t ever intend to even consider the truth of the matter! I support nuclear power because, other than uranium mining, the industry has great promise in it’s effort to fulfill the energy needs of the fast growing State of Texas in a safe, clean and efficient manner! The GE/Hitachi light water reactor planned for Victoria County will be more efficient, safer and use less uranium fuel than it’s older predecessors! It does not present a danger to even it’s closest neighbors and massive amounts of groundwater will not be needed for it’s operation! I am an environmentalist! I do practical things every day to conserve resources for those coming behind me! I will not, however, fall prey to extremist propaganda! Worse yet, those who created the computer models are now finding that the data fed in to those models was, in many cases, incorrect to begin with! The Polar Bears are at record numbers according to federal wildlife officials! So, those computer modelers are now scrambling around trying to explain why the oceans haven’t flooded coastal property! Trying to explain why their own instruments are telling them that the oceans have not warmed! Disaster has been predicted for more than fifteen years now and, after reading the evidence I have presented from published media reports, the disasters just aren’t happening!I understand that the temporary highway sign "Men Working" is now taboo in some places because it's politically incorrect! Pardon me while I barf!
I worked at one area chemical plant for an internationally known construction company that told it's supervisory personnel not to refer to their employees as "hands!" The term was not PC! Everyone please notice! This is me barfing again!
Phil Gramm! Please shut your stupid, elitist mouth. People who have MILLIONS OF DOLLARS LESS THAN YOU ARE HURTING!
The uranium miners in South Texas are applying for permission to add some clean wells to the wells they're trying to restore in order to bring up the numbers and make it look better! I have one thing to say about this; I told you so!
80,000 Navajos live on a reservation that has little or no running water! Many must haul water for miles WHEN the wells are working! We can send a rover to Mars but the Navajo people live in the Third World! Years ago there were open pit surface mining and yellow cake (uranium ore) processing sites on the reservation. The Navajos are still suffering from that! And now the uranium miners have gone back to use in situ leach uranium recovery methods to destroy what little water they have! What did Nikita Khrushchev say? "When you skin a victim, leave a little skin on to you can come back and skin him again!"
The Reverend Jesse Jackson! Cut off whose n*ts? Great language Pastor! A Pastor of which flock?
I saw the strangest thing the other day. While driving down Navarro I saw a car with a "Rick Perry" bumper sticker! Blew my mind! I nearly swerved into oncoming traffic! Perry proved once again that his office is for sale when a group chaired by the Governor got a $100,000 contribution and later got the contributor intervention by Perry with the federal government! Perry is the most corrupt Governor since E.J. Davis, the Republican Reconstruction Governor invited in the carpetbaggers after the Civil War! Come to think of it isn't Perry inviting in more carpetbaggers to operate the new toll roads he has planned?
Ok, I give up! Too weak from barfing!
Commissioner Janak,
I was out in the orchard this evening after the rain. You could almost hear the collective sighs of some very thirsty pecan trees. My father, my family and I spent many long hours over twenty years planting, grafting, pruning, watering and fertilizing our orchard. There is a lot of sweat equity here. In the last several months I've planted Naval orange, lemon, Mexican lime and peach trees to add to the fig, orange and grapefruit trees we planted several years ago. I've also planted Sauvignon Blanc grapes.
As you might have guessed water is of central importance. Without water this place whithers away and dies! Recently the summersible pump finally gave it's last and had to be replaced. As I prepared to pull the pump I realized the entire plumbing assembly had to be replaced also. Three days later and $530.00 poorer I was showering with my well water again. Sweat equity!
Our orchard and various gardens have benefited, over the years from many pickup loads of horse manure hand shoveled and spread in an effort to mulch and use less water and commercial fertilizer. Many pickup loads of leaves and grass clippings picked up on the curb around Victoria have been composted and spread by hand. Lots of sweat equity.
I helped my father build the house I live in and five generations of my family have drank from one or the other of two wells on this place. Yes, Commissioner we have sweat equity in this place.
This place, however, as you know is in danger. An insidious danger of being destroyed by the greed and careless irresponsibility of others. I am only six short miles and down-dip in the Chicot Aquifer from the area in Mission Valley being looked at by uranium miners right now. If exploration alone has already damaged eight neighboring wells in Goliad what will happen when the mining permit is approved?
What happens to me-my sweat equity-when exploration and mining makes my well water undrinkable? In Goliad the first line of defense for the property owners was their county commissioner. In Goliad at least, the Commissioner's Court, to include the individual commissioners, did the right thing! They realized the value of sweat equity!
My Great, Great Aunt Myrtle Davis, on my Mother's side late of Talladega, Alabama was a loud, outspoken woman who always said exactly what was on her mind and so did my Grandfather, Walker Haywood. My Great Grandmother on my Father's side, Mary Dowe was the same way. Trust me, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!
So I'm telling you here and now you're going to have to come down of that safe perch on the fence and decide whether you're going to represent the 99% of rural landowners in your precinct who don't want uranium mining or the 1% who do!
Kevin Janak, you are our first line of defense. This is your precinct! We entrusted it to you! I entrusted it to you when your opponents called me and asked for my support! What are you willing to allow in your precinct? Will you stand by silent while the same thing going on in Goliad happens here?
TCEQ has abandoned the people of this area in favor of permit fees! We still have Ron Paul who'll oppose the EPA Aquifer Exemption. Our Groundwater District, God Bless them, has tested a grid section of wells and proven up our historic water quality, however, we're almost a year into this mess and our Commissioner is still on the fence!
Is there not enough information out there? How about the 100% failure rate of the RailRoad Commission and TCEQ to protect us? TCEQ is about to grant an aquifer exemption basically telling those already damaged that their water was never fit to drink to begin with! That agency is a pollution justification agency for anyone with the money to pay for a permit! All of this has happened and we still don't know where our Commissioner stands! What will County Commissioner Kevin Janak do to protect my sweat equity?
I understand the political grist mill of the Commissioner's Court grinds very slowly and exceedingly fine but I believe the public record, national, state and local provide enough justification for a resolution from the Court to oppose uranium mining in Victoria County.
Perhaps I need to bring some of the brown and yellow water John Caldwell asked the UEC executive to drink so you can decide whether you want your mother drinking it! Your wife? Perhaps, your children? No! I don't want to drink it either! Nor does Mrs. Arnecke or Mr. Klotzman! Nor do the local posters on the Advocate who defend uranium mining! No one wants to drink that water! Well, guess what! I don't want to either! Nor do I want to water my trees with it! Nor would I like to shower in it!
What, Commissioner Janak, will you do to protect my sweat equity! At least the Duderstadt's Commissioner stood up! Where do you stand?
I shall remain:
Wondering,
Kenneth Don Schustereit
WATCHING AMERICA DIE At almost 86, the saddest time of my life, second only to loss of my Beloved Wife, I am forced to watch my America die at the hands of Executioners I shall name below. Before doing so, it is essential to remind ourselves of the Cornerstones of this Great Republic, A Nation Under God, Blessed By God through all adversities, until Puny Governmental Gnats decided to take God out of the Equation, and indeed to begin violating every principal laid down by the Founding Fathers, and from which Greatness was achieved. THE CORNERSTONES: * One Nation Under God. * A Constitution acknowledging God. * Strong Religious Values, highly influenced by the King James Version Of The Bible. * A Nationalistic Spirit, with Strong Reliance On Traditional Values. THE EXECUTIONERS ARE!: * A Judiciary that has all but erased God from the Educational System, the Affairs of Government including The Military, Gutted the Constitution by Legislating From the Bench, Authorizing the Murders of Babies, Given Foreigners. including Terrorists, Equal Rights Under The Constitution, and have awarded Sexual Deviates Equal Status With Traditional Families. * The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) an organization formed in the late 1920's by an avowed Communist and subscribing to many aspects of Marxism. These People highly influence Local, State, and The National Judiciary, and it is through their efforts that much of the Execution (Murder) of the Constitution has occurred. * The Left Wing Liberal Senate & House of The United States who have succeeded in destroying the Financial Structure of the United States, where Excessive Taxation, Spending and Debt have destroyed the Dollar as The World Standard of Currency. Indeed this same group now holds America Hostage in the Energy Crisis by refusing to allow Costal and Alaskan Drilling, or The Use of Coal to create Gasoline. Now that they subsidize the use of Corn for Ethanol, World Wide Food Shortages are Developing including Right Here At Home. They insisted that Financial Institutions embark on a Campaign to allow more folks to Own Homes, thus, they are responsible for the Current Banking Crisis. * Moral Decadence & Rot In Entertainment, TV, & On Radio: It is no longer possible to watch TV, see most Movies, or listen to Radio without being subjected to Foul and Vulgar Language, or in the Case of TV, Vulgar Standup Sex Dance, and the Crowning Blow is a Climate of Sodom and Gomorrah Behavior. That which is Fit for Traditional Family Consumption is almost impossible to find. * The Education System At All Levels, has been invaded by Left Wing Liberal Practice and Thought which is totally destructive of Traditional Value Systems that existed before 1964 when the entire Prior Concept was stood upon its head with the New Liberation Ideology of Rights Without Responsibility or Accountability. America is on its Death Bed, on Life Support because of the Above Contributors, without hope of Recovery Unless, it returns to The Standards set down by The Founding Fathers, and more important still, PUTS GOD BACK IN GOVERNMENT, ENTERTAINMENT, THE MEDIA, AND THE SCHOOLS. More to follow. - Developing -
SAL, San Antonio Lightning Newspaper, And SanAntonioLightning.Com TCEQ and the Texas RailRoad Commission have a 100% failure rate at protecting Texas landowners from uranium mining. Anyone with the money can buy a permit to pollute! TxDot recently made a $1.1 Billion accounting error and spends millions per year roaming around in their own air fleet paid for by the yaxpayer! The Texas DPS made $58 million in '05 selling your and my personal information then admitted to a reporter that 29% of those records were either incorrect or incomplete! A recent call to the Texas Department of Human Services was left ring 18 minutes while people worked all around the ringing phone! The Governor's office is a wholely owned subsidiary of HillCo. Partners, Inc. and about as responsive to the people of the state as an $8 whore! The State Comptroller's office pushes local appraisal districts to raise preperty valuations! Our state government is a laughing stock! Why am I not laughing?
The Peter Morrison Report
About The Peter Morrison Report: The Peter Morrison Report is a free weekly newsletter for Texas conservatives. Please help me get this message out by forwarding this information to as many people you know who might be interested. If you're receiving this message as a forward, you can get the next report in your inbox when it comes out. Just visit http://www.PeterMorrisonRep... and enter your email address for a free subscription. This week's report: "TxDOT Airlines" Burns Taxpayers As the price of gas continues to rise, most Texans are thinking about the cost of transportation. Many have opted on cheaper methods, such as carpooling, or getting a more fuel-efficient vehicle. Perhaps we should take solace in the fact that our elected officials do not have to spend their time worrying about such trivial matters. What follows are the details of an enraging report put out last week by Texans for Fiscal Responsibility regarding public officials' use of taxpayer-funded private planes. The state of Texas maintains a private airline fleet for use by state officials. Five years ago, some conservatives considered selling it off for its estimated value of $18 million. Unfortunately for taxpayers, our elected officials decided that private planes were a crucial necessity, even during the $10 billion budget shortfall of 2003. Instead of getting rid of the private fleet, they were just transferred from the State Aircraft Pooling Board and placed under a less obvious ledger entry: the Texas Department of Transportation. We should all be thankful that it was a private fleet and not a bank account for which TxDOT was accountable. TxDOT recently made an accounting mistake that led the department to announce that somehow they had "miscounted" $1.1 billion. But hey, what's $1.1 billion among friends? Everyone knows that Texas is a friendly state, particularly TxDOT with its "Drive Friendly - The Texas Way" slogan. Five years later, TxDOT has certainly been making good use of their private fleet, using them to fly in officials for meetings about the Trans-Texas Corridor, news conferences, and award ceremonies. In fact, the satisfaction levels from officials that have used the fleet are so high that TxDOT is estimating there will be a 57% increase in the number of logged flight hours during the coming budget cycle. Since Texas currently enjoys a budget surplus, perhaps it is only to be expected if our officials take a few celebratory joyrides on their private aircraft fleet at taxpayer expense. Perhaps what they do not realize is that they were not the ones to create the budget surplus. The government does not create wealth; the government only consumes it (especially in the form of private plane exhaust). Wealth is created by the hard-working efforts of Texans across the state. When the good citizens of this state are having difficulty filling up their gas tanks due to the spiraling costs of gasoline; when purchasing food or paying the mortgage becomes a heated dinner discussion between spouses; and when words like inflation and recession are no longer on the fringe of Texans' vocabularies, times can be accurately described as "tough". Very tough. USA Today reported that small towns have been hit the hardest by gas costs, compared to major cities, like Houston, Dallas and Austin. Middle-class, traditional Americans, who already face steep taxes (in some cases debilitating taxation) often find themselves to the point where saving money for a vacation and having extra disposable income for a movie or other form of entertainment is difficult. Everyone in Texas is impacted by the depreciating dollar, which is causing the price of oil to skyrocket, the price of food to rise, and the costs of services to increase dramatically as well. These rising costs are going to have major long-term financial implications for this state and nation. The future is getting harder to predict, and with the current state of affairs in Texas and in the United States, one would imagine our great state and nation are headed for rough times. This report has documented the many failures of our elected officials to stop immigration, liberal and conservative malfeasance, and attempts to erode national sovereignty. Yet in the midst of the problems of the day, it is still important to highlight the positives that showcase the greatness of this state and nation. No matter how bleak things appear, hope will always remain. We must possess the hope that change can occur. Government corruption, whether it is a Republican or a Democrat behind the wheel of deceit, must be brought to a halt. This is an unenviable task to undertake, as government officials love to callously toss around tax dollars - your money. Trying to keep them from abusing their privileged position is quite difficult. Consider just a few of the recent instances in which our elected officials have decided to use their private air fleet: * Governor Rick Perry and two others flew to Baton Rouge to attend Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal's inauguration. Couldn't he have watched it remotely (many Baton Rouge stations stream live on the Internet) and sent a card? Or else do something more productive with his time than waste it participating in other states' meaningless pageantries? * Attorney General Greg Abbott and five others flew to Kerrville and San Antonio for school safety events. Can't the AG delegate teaching students about safety instead of running up taxpayer bills to make political appearances? * Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples and two others flew to Houston for the Houston Livestock Show and a meeting with a Mexican delegation. Shouldn't the ag commissioner just drive to Houston and stay a few nights, paying for his own gas and hotel room? * Since the private fleet is technically under TxDOT's supervision, it should come as no surprise then that TxDOT Commissioner Ted Houghton required two planes to fly himself and nine others to a memorial service. On other trips, he and five others flew to a number of Texas cities for meetings on the Trans-Texas Corridor 69 project. Should taxpayers subsidize TxDOT's PR campaign to sell building toll roads by stealing people's land? * Not to be outdone, legislative members also make use of the taxpayer supported private aircraft fleet. Senator Carlos Uresti (D-San Antonio) said that his constituents "want their state senator at their town hall meetings. It's there for that use." I wonder if his constituents would agree if they knew the expense he racked up getting there. While it is commendable that an elected official cares so much about spending time with his constituents, it is unfortunate that he does not care more about the wasteful spending of the taxes paid by his constituents. Time is money, but I think most Texans would prefer a little extra cash in their wallet over spending more time with politicians. The problem is not that officials are going to these events. The problem is they are doing it in the costliest way possible. Rather than hopping on a private airplane that can cost up to $977.50 per flight-hour, our government officials should fly commercial airlines or drive, just like the rest of us. Or, if they're wealthy enough (and many of them are), they should pay for luxury travel out of their own pocket instead of sending the bill to the taxpayer. Just because someone has been elected to a statewide office does not make them too good to fly on a commercial flight or get behind the wheel of their own vehicle and drive to their destination. It is all too common for our elected officials to want to ignore their own laws and do as they please. The elitist preference of many of our elected officials is to be chauffeured to a taxpayer-paid private plane and avoid the inconveniences of having to stand in a security line with the commoners. Why have to take off your shoes and throw away any carry-on liquids when you can prop your feet up on a private plane after helping yourself to some onboard refreshment? Lord Acton famously said, "Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely." It seems that even conservatives that offer glib promises during election years decide that the temptation of an all-expense-taxpayer-paid private flight is just too alluring to pass up. You should be upset at this abuse of taxpayer money. Call TxDOT. Let them know that you are watching them as they waste taxpayer money. Pay attention to stories like this and imagine if you miscounted $100 in your budget, let alone $1.1 billion. Remember that the cost of these private flights is coming out of your pocket, not theirs. The next time you fill up your truck and it costs $75 dollars or you buy a plane ticket and it costs you $500, remember that you are also picking up the bill for state officials to fly back and forth to award ceremonies and memorial services, where I can guarantee it's a lot more about politicking and backslapping than it is about doing the state's business. The next time you are stuck in traffic due to a construction project that has overrun its budget and its schedule, remember that is the real responsibility of TxDOT. It is their job to improve the congestion on the roads in our state, not to maintain a private plane fleet so that our elected officials can avoid those same roads that normal people have to use. In a time of economic uncertainty, you can no longer be apathetic to government waste. We never should have been. We cannot be now. Contact Information for the TxDOT Government Flight Services Department: http://www.txdot.gov/contac... Email: http://www.txdot.gov/contac... Fax: 512-936-9195 Sources: http://www.empowertexans.co... http://www.chron.com/CDA/ar... The Peter Morrison Report http://www.PeterMorrisonRep... That's it for this report. Watch your inbox next week for the next issue of The Peter Morrison Report, a free newsletter for Texas conservatives. PO Box 8742, Lumberton, TX 77657, USA While this is NO refelection on the vast majority of DPS officers in the field, it is nevertheless interesting reading: Texas Department of Public Safety 6/26/08 Driver Records Bureau P.O. Box 4087 Austin, Tx 78773 Attn: Joyce E. Stevens, Manager Re: Correspondence dated 6/13/08 request for driving record of Kenneth Schustereit Dear Ms. Stevens, I sit here today totally mystified by your department’s fulfillment of my paid request for a copy of my driving record. That the document is incorrect and the record incomplete is really no surprise to me. As public record proves I have been a victim of the Texas Department of Public Safety’s(DPS) grossly negligent practices for some 33 years. The document I received lists five entries and I am aware that there should be at least seven from the first date mentioned to present day. You are missing at least two citations. As I mentioned this is no surprise to me. In 2004 the DPS sold an obviously flawed criminal background on one, Kenneth Don Schustereit to ChoicePoint, Inc. which eventually led to a loss of employment. That information listed one, Kenneth Dale Schustereit as a convicted felon failing not only to get the name correct but to relay the fact that he was convicted only of a misdemeanor! This, in spite of the fact that my drivers license clearly uses the middle name “Don!” No! There are no surprises when dealing with the DPS in Texas. In a 2005 interview with Wired Magazine DPS admitted that up to “…29% of our records are either incorrect or incomplete.” An Open Records Request I filed that same year revealed that DPS took in more than $58 million in revenue selling both driving and criminal records! Are you aware that when an officer calls in a driver’s license he is placing his life in your hands to provide the correct, up-to-date information he needs to complete his duty? Those officers in the field depend on you! What about them? Are they now supposed to believe anything you say? In light of the miserable, irresponsible, and I believe criminal, nonfeasance DPS record keeping displays, how can anyone be confident in your ability to provide the correct information? By DPS’ own public statement you are convicted, in the eyes of the people of this state, of gross incompetence and flagrant irresponsible actions! How, in the name of Almighty God, do you people sleep at night? The State and National flags that fly over the DPS campus in Austin should be lowered and replaced with simple black flags until the Texas Department of Public Safety can be overhauled to protect the people of this state from the likes of you! I shall remain: Still seeking justice, Kenneth Don Schustereit 275 Baass Ln Victoria, Texas 77905 CC: Senior Patrol Officer, Victoria PD Senior Patrol Officer Victoria County SO Senior Patrol Officer, Victoria DPS Rep. Geanie Morrison Sen. Glenn Hegar Texas Sunset Commission Robert D. Brown, Attorney at Law Blog Post on the Victoria Advocate The solid message of Jesus Christ was that we should love our neighbor as ourselves!
I received this week a notice from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality(TCEQ) that the uranium mining company exploring for uranium in Goliad has filed an application and that application is complete. From the wording in the notice TCEQ will approve the application.
"UEC has requested that a portion of the aquifer be designated as an exempt aquifer. The requested exemption would apply from a depth of from 45 to 404 feet." What is an "exempted aquifer? According to this notice, "An aquifer or portion of any aquifer can be designated as an exempted aquifer if it does not currently serve as a source of drinking water for human consumption..."
Am I missing something here? Hasn't water from 45 to 405 feet been a source of drinking water for area families for several generations? Or perhaps does UEC and TCEQ want us all to believe those families don't exist?
"The Executive Director has made a preliminary decision that this permit, if issued, meets all the statutory and regulatory requirements..." Oops! Did I miss something here? Didn't we just read that the aquifer must not be a source of human drinking water?
When greed for money blinds those who sign uranium leases to the 100% failure rate of the uranium mining industry to clean up after themselves this is not in the spirit Christ was trying to promote. Worse yet, when those mining representatives have been caught in lies over and over and people still lease, this is the worst kind of evil!
I have a word for those who, for greed, would endanger their neighbor and his property! One day you'll have to face your maker! "because for every matter there is a time and judgment. Though the misery of man increases greatly." Ecc. 8:6
I found it strangely ironic after re-reading Sherilyn Arnacke's guest editorial defending uranium mining in Goliad County that when her own homestead in Victoria County was threatened by the TransTexas Corridor(TTC) she and her husband showed up at a meeting in Victoria to oppose it.
How odd that the TTC issue is so much like the uranium mining issue! Less than 1% support uranium mining and that fact was made obvious at the TCEQ meeting in Goliad! TCEQ, however, feels just fine about granting the mining permit as if we do not exist! Clearly 99% of the public in Texas oppose the TTC and yet, in spite of overwhelming public opposition, TxDot keeps trudging on as if we do not exist!
We've done everything our civics lessons said we could do! We've written letters to our elected officials, letters to the editor, assembled peaceably and attended meetings to oppose the project. Clearly the opposition to both the TTC and uranium mining is overwhelming but this evil proceeds! "because the sentence against evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set to do evil!" Ecc. 8:11
In spite of the will of the vast majority of the people they, TCEQ, TxDot and the uranium miners, are doing what they want because it's in the power of their hands to do so! "Woe to those who devise iniquity, and who work out evil on their beds! At morning light they practice it because it is in the power of their hand! They covet fields and take them by violence, also houses and seize them. So they oppress a man and his house! A man and his inheritance." Micah 2:1-2
When I post this blog there will always be some sociopath, as described above in red, who'll whine about facts and data in an effort to justify the rape of our freedom, our property and our lives in the name of greed! The facts are that in Texas the uranium mining industry has a 100% failure rate for restoring the property they've damaged. The TCEQ has that same failure rate at protecting Texas property owners. This is documented and undeniable!
I don't want to hear any garbage about me supporting nuclear power but opposing uranium mining! The fact is that Generation III nuclear
power is safe. I'd happily live in a lean-to on the reactor building for a year if the sociopaths who defend uranium mining will drink John Caldwell's water for a year! Why should Texas allow uranium mining in a drinking water aquifer when uranium mining is done safely, far from civilization in Canada and Australia?
The people of this area, those whose land has already been damaged, are being backed into a corner! There seems to be no escape! No remedy! Never back someone into a corner! THAT'S when someone gets hurt! I've got a bad feeling about this! The majority of the people are being ignored in favor of lining the pockets of a miniscule minority! I spoke with the authorities about this growing resentment this week! I fear this will get down right nasty! That's usually what happens when the might of right is ignored!
Are we really loving our neighbor or loving the jingle in our pockets?
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What is computer modeling?
