http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/KennethSchustereit/7916 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.PeterMorrisonReport.com 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/contact_us/aviation.htm Email: http://www.txdot.gov/contact_us/?id=avn-email Fax: 512-936-9195 Sources: http://www.empowertexans.com/node/579 http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2008_4577265 The Peter Morrison Report http://www.PeterMorrisonReport.com 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 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.PeterMorrisonReport.com 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/contact_us/aviation.htm Email: http://www.txdot.gov/contact_us/?id=avn-email Fax: 512-936-9195 Sources: http://www.empowertexans.com/node/579 http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2008_4577265 The Peter Morrison Report http://www.PeterMorrisonReport.com 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 en-us Its seems like you are running against her, Kenneth. http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/KennethSchustereit/7916/#c_56226 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/KennethSchustereit/7916/#c_56226 Its seems like you are running against her, Kenneth. The movers and shakers of both parties don't care for me because I'm a loose cannon to them. They can't control me. I would say the rank and file of both parties like me just fine. So, no, for now I'm not running against her. I wish someone credible would though! How about you? http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/KennethSchustereit/7916/#c_56267 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/KennethSchustereit/7916/#c_56267 The movers and shakers of both parties don't care for me because I'm a loose cannon to them. They can't control me. I would say the rank and file of both parties like me just fine. So, no, for now I'm not running against her. I wish someone credible would though! How about you? Would I? My answer is a maybe. It depends on how life is after this year's election and how angerier I get. http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/KennethSchustereit/7916/#c_56303 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/KennethSchustereit/7916/#c_56303 Would I? My answer is a maybe. It depends on how life is after this year's election and how angerier I get. Trust me! No matter who's elected you're going to get much more angry! If you want to understand Morrison, study Armbrister. She's following his lead! Pandering to both parties while trying to look conservative. Armbrister got away with it for years. http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/KennethSchustereit/7916/#c_56419 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/KennethSchustereit/7916/#c_56419 Trust me! No matter who's elected you're going to get much more angry! If you want to understand Morrison, study Armbrister. She's following his lead! Pandering to both parties while trying to look conservative. Armbrister got away with it for years. Kenneth Schustereit, are you suggesting me to run in 2010? You do not know my politcal views. http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/KennethSchustereit/7916/#c_56733 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/KennethSchustereit/7916/#c_56733 Kenneth Schustereit, are you suggesting me to run in 2010? You do not know my politcal views.