Tele-Townhall on Spending Limits with Sen. Dan Patrick & Rep. Ken Paxton

Taxpayer Tea Parties Take Off Texas Style

We just finished the Austin Taxpayer Tea Party – and have word that the Dallas Tea Party had 300 people. (see it here - thanks, Dwayne Horner!). We had about 60 at the impromptu Austin event, and Rep. Wayne Christian spoke as did Peggy Venable (Texas AFP director) and Michael Quinn Sullivan (president of Empower Texans).

Houston held a tea party simultaneously. We are waiting to hear how that event went. The Ft Worth event starts at 3 pm.

We’re seeing RED! The federal government is in the red, mortgaging our grandchildren’s future, using so-called “stimulus” and bailouts to redistribute wealth, and promoting a $3.6 Billion budget full of big-government programs and policies (such as government-run health care).

While we are seeing RED, Texas legislators are working to keep our state in the BLACK. With 44 states having significant deficits, we are working to enact a more stringent spending limit in Texas which will keep Texas a beacon of fiscal sanity and freedom.

The tea parties were result of Rick Santelli’s rants on CNBC – find that and see how you can participate by clicking here: http://www.taxpayerteaparty.com/

Federal spending has Texans seeing RED

We’re seeing Red …
but want to keep Texas – and Texas taxpayers – in the BLACK

Texans are seeing RED – with the federal bailouts, unprecedented spending “stimulus”, and a $3.5 trillion federal budget full of big-government policies – the federal government is also in the RED.

Texans have the opportunity to embrace sound fiscal policies and keep the Lone Star State a beacon of fiscal sanity.

With 44 states having significant budget deficits, Texas can continue to show the rest of the states – and the federal government – the appropriate role of government. We believe government doesn’t have first dibbs over taxpayers’ hard earned dollars.

Texas is poised to consider more stringent spending limits are enacted. Texas currently has a constitutional spending limit which but lacks definition. Texans deserve greater transparency, accountability and some degree of certainty for Texas taxpayers.
Spending limits have been a centerpiece for AFP’s public policy since the organization was created five years ago. Taxpayer protections are AFP’s number-one state initiative.

The legislation below will apply a statutory spending limit to the appropriations that are acquired from state tax revenue.

HB 994 – Rep. Ken Paxton (R-McKinney)
SB 928 – Sen. Dan Patrick (R-Houston)

Both bills have multiple bill sponsors – check the links to see if your legislators are already signed on.

Putting taxpayers in control over local government growth – the ultimate in local control:
Local government has grown four times faster than peoples’ paychecks and local government debt has grown five times faster. Currently, property taxes can increase as much as 8% before citizens may petition the taxing entity to “roll back” the tax rate, requiring as many as 10% of the registered voters to sign the petition. These bills lower the rate to 5% and eliminate the onerous petition-gathering process. They also provide some much-needed appraisal reform.

SB 700 by Sen. Dan Patrick (R-Houston)
HB 1575 by Rep. Carl Isett (R-Lubbock) & Rep. Ken Paxton (R-McKinney)

Take action now: Encourage your state senator to co-sponsor the senate bills (SB) and ask your state legislator to co-sponsor the house bills (HB).

To find your legislator, click here: http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/

Obama budget takes us to new heights - dangerously high

Why are taxpayers seeing red? Five charts say it all. The Obama budget:

- will send the tax and spend-o-meter will hit historic heights;

- pushes spending to historic levels -- 27.7% of GDP;

- pushes the deficdit to historic levels -- 12.3% of GDP;

- pushes public debt to levels unseen since WWII -- 64.8% of GDP; and

- sends spending and taxes skyrocketing.

You have to see it to believe it: paste this into your browser and weep...
http://www.americansforprosperity.org/022609-kerpen-charts

Texas Independence Reminds Us Freedom Isn't Free

Remember the Alamo:
Tuesday, Texas celebrates its 163rd anniversary of Independence.

The Texas Declaration of Independence was the formal declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico in the Texas Revolution. The declaration was adopted in 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 2, 1836 and signed the following day.

While Texas’ declaration of Independence was being signed, the Battle of the Alamo was underway; and in the early morning hours of March 6, the Mexican army launched an assault on the Alamo. The grossly outnumbered Texians fought off two attacks, but were unable to fend off a third. As Mexican soldiers scaled the walls, heroes within the Alamo fought valiantly for our freedom. The lesson we learn from this is that freedom doesn’t come with the signing of a document, but must be fought for. Today, we face a bloodless battle, but a battle no less important.

Independence requires vigilance on the part of citizens, making sure the government is controlled by the citizens, not the reverse. We must continue to fight for our individual liberties, freedom and limited government principles.

City pulls plug on plan to pay off credit cards for potential homeowners

The Houston Chronicle now reporting:

Mayor Bill White this afternoon announced that a plan for the city to pay off some debts for first-time home buyers has been pulled from tomorrow's City Council agenda.

Council members are now professing their "embarrassment" about the proposal, which has hit the national news circuit, including drudgereport.com., which picked up this morning's Houston Chronicle story about the plan

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6277344.html

It was bad public policy in the first place. It's the right thing to do to drop that idea like a hot potato.

Home Ownership isn't a Guarantee or Entitlement

The American Dream of Home Ownership: an opportunity, not a guarantee
By Peggy Venable

The City of Houston is in dire straights. They are so broke they had to borrow money.

Two months ago, without any mention in the media at all, Harris County bailed the City of Houston out of a bad deal by loaning it $118 million. As reported on the Chronicle's website on Sunday,

“A series of unexpected market swings and a relationship with a troubled bank has left the city of Houston paying more than $600,000 a month in interest — far higher than the market rate for comparable securities — to a very unusual investor: Harris County.

“The county came to Houston’s rescue in December after a bank that backed $182 million in city bonds had its credit downgraded, leaving the city with a 15 percent interest rate.”

(Thanks for that info, Houston Chronicle reporter Bradley Olson.)

Fast forward to today: the City of Houston is proposing spending almost a half million dollars to give individuals unable to qualify for a home loan up to $3,000 to pay off their credit cards and debts.

Hum…

First, the City was paying a 15% interest rate on bonds and they are going to loan unqualified potential homeowners with money to buy a home they likely can’t afford and who aren’t disciplined enough to pay their current bills on time?

Does this make sense?

Of course not.

It’s clear the Houston leaders didn’t learn their lesson handed to them in the federal housing finance disaster.

The American dream of home ownership is an opportunity, not a guarantee.

It’s an issue of fairness.

Taxpayers who played by the rules and paid their bills on time should not be forced to help pay off the credit cards for folks who didn’t. It would be rewarding irresponsibility and creating adverse incentives.

Houstonians don’t need a new entitlement program they can’t afford, to put people who aren’t financially responsible in homes they don’t afford.

Clearly, Houston doesn’t need to play Robin Hood. Prospective homeowners need to learn first to pay their bills on time, then earn the opportunity for home ownership.

In Dallas, the pot calls the kettle black

The City of Dallas faces a $100 million deficit for the 2009-10 fiscal year. Nevertheless, Mayor Tom Leppert thinks the city could do a better job running Dallas Independent School District than the current school board.

Strangely, it's hard to argue with Leppert on that point; the district overspent its 07-08 budget by at least $84 million, they were faulted for using fake SSN's to hire some employees, they laid off more than 500 employees as a result of their financial mismanagement, and -- among mounting charges of corruption and ineptitude -- the school board voted to extend their terms of service by an extra year.

But really, to have one free-spending entity take over another is like jumping out of the frying pan into the fire.

Allowing parents to choose the schools where their children attend would help clean up the public school system. Tax dollars would move into districts where students are getting better educations and administrators aren't blowing taxpayer money on frivolous or corrupt activities. Poorer performing districts would have to shape up in order to keep their doors open.

In the Feb. 23 issue of the Dallas Morning News, we learn that school board and City Council members, along with the city's top manager didn't know the Mayor had this hair-brained plan in the works:

Some blasted the idea as unrealistic and bizarre, while others wanted to hear more.

"Bizarre" is right. Enough said -- we don't need to hear any more.

So much for individual responsibility

What happened to individual responsibility?

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL QUOTES A READER:

"Now that those of us who have been making steady, on-time payments on our mortgages for years will be paying off others’ mortgages through our taxes, can we claim a tax-deduction for our neighbors’ mortgage interest too?"

Good Question.

Gov. Perry Takes Stimulus Money -- on his own terms

Gov. Rick Perry has long been a taxpayer advocate.

This week, he wrote a letter to President Barack Obama in response to stipulations in the $787 billion stimulus package. "On behalf of the people of Texas, please allow this letter to certify that we will accept the funds in H.R. 1 and use them to promote economic growth and create jobs in a fiscally responsible manner that is in the best interest of Texas taxpayers," Perry said. "I remain opposed to using these funds to expand existing government programs, burdening the state with ongoing expenditures long after the funding has dried up."

Thanks for protecting Texas taxpayers, Gov. Perry! Long after the “stimulus” money is gone, we’ll be paying for it. We should not also be paying for government programs it could be used to create or expand.

You tell ‘em, Gov Perry! Read the letter here:
http://governor.state.tx.us/news/press-release/11969/

Groaning for freedom

A Dallas Morning News editorial of 2/19 complains that what I consider a wise rejection of a statewide smoking ban by the Texas Legislature in years past was caused by the presence of too many caveats and exceptions -- and that the smoking ban legislation developing in this session should be more uniform.
I don’t smoke and I love freedom and respect property rights. I respect the property owner/business owner’s right to post a sign “no smoking” and to refuse to serve people who smoke. And if that is profitable, nonsmoking venues will proliferate. I don’t see that happening.
A big problem with the DMN editorial statement, and the smoking ban proposal itself, is that the businesses affected are not uniform. Restaurant patrons buy more food than drinks while owners of bars depend on beverage sales for most of their income. And there is no question that up to 50% of all bar patrons are smokers — not so many in restaurants.
Don’t get me wrong. A statewide smoking ban is also a reckless expansion of government, tearing away at private property rights of owners and the individual freedom of patrons. But, I strongly uphold the right of bar and restaurants owners to go smoke-free -- without government intervention.
Are non-smokers too stupid to select establishments which don’t allow smoking? If so, who will walk us across the street so we don’t get run over?
If elected officials want to truly represent these small businesses well, they should not even think about taking away a significant source of income for thousands of Texas bar and tavern owners during one of the worst recessions of our lifetime.
So even if the DMN doesn’t respect property rights, individual freedom and consumer choice, some of us recognize appreciate liberty. I’m not ready to turn the lights out on the Statue of Liberty just yet. – Peggy Venable (a “groaner” by DMN editorial standards)

The DMN editorial
The groans of exasperation are audible from smokers and civil libertarians as the Legislature moves closer to passing a statewide ban on smoking in restaurants and bars. Groaners say businesses should be able to set smoking rules for themselves, based on what drives business.

But what if it turned out that affected business owners actually agree with this law? The Texas Restaurant Association now says that a statewide ban is a good idea. When a 5,000-member group representing a $34 billion industry says it supports a smoking ban, it's time for lawmakers to take notice.

The lack of statewide uniformity has created a hodgepodge of ordinances among the 28 Texas cities that ban smoking and those that don't. It confuses patrons and leaves some business owners worrying about losing customers to smoking establishments up the road.

With this proposed law, the same ban would apply everywhere. It ends the guesswork.

Lawmakers must resist heavy lobbying by the tobacco interests fighting this bill. A similar bill in 2007 failed after it became so laden with caveats and exceptions that it threatened to weaken anti-smoking laws already on the books.

The proposed ban would outlaw smoking in bars, restaurants and all indoor public places, as well as at outdoor sporting or music events and within 15 feet of public building entrances.

Smokers complain that this bill tramples on their right to light up, which they think trumps non-smokers' right to eat, drink, socialize and breathe free of secondhand smoke. What smokers really demand is the right not to be inconvenienced. Sorry, but the time has come for you to step outside if you want to foul the air.

Secondhand smoke is both an annoyance and a serious public health threat, according to the 2006 surgeon general's report. Secondhand smoke kills an estimated 53,000 people a year. Numerous surveys indicate that most Texans support a statewide smoking ban.

It's time for the Legislature to stand up to the tobacco lobby and stand for Texans who want to breathe freely and live longer.

City of Dallas doesn't want voters' input

We support the No Taxpayer Hotel group in Dallas.

This is from the freedom-fighers in Dallas (the city facing a $100 million shortfall) who are working to keep the City Council honest -- and let voters decide if they want a taxpayer-funded convention center hotel:

On Wednesday, our City Council voted to approve development and operating agreements for the proposed, $550,000,000 convention center hotel. With less than 70 days until voting begins, the City continued their effort to ensure the taxpayers who are ultimately responsible for the debt, are completely excluded from the process. Discussion regarding the agreements was conducted behind closed doors and the terms are being kept hidden from the public.

The decision to move forward with the hotel despite a pending vote came just two days after the City Manager announced Dallas was facing a $100,000,000 budget shortfall. Furthermore, St. Louis was forced to sell its convention center hotel at foreclosure auction last week. (The proposed hotel Dallas hotel is the same size as St. Louis' hotel, yet several hundred million dollars more expensive).

We encourage you to share these recent developments with your friends and neighbors and ask them to sign up on our website. Only with your help can we make sure the Dallas taxpayers who will assume $550,000,000 in new debt are able to vote on the hotel.


You can help. Contact your City Council Member and the Mayor and let them know you think the taxpayer funded hotel should be stopped.

go to: http://www.notaxpayerhotel.com/ for more information and to sign up.

Texas Watchdog nails Fred Hill's revolving door

NEWS RELEASE
February 19, 2009


The online news site Texas Watchdog spotlights Richardson Republican Fred Hill, who for years was chairman of the House Local Government Ways and Means Committee.

Hill is the latest lawmaker to go through Capitol Hill's revolving door and become a lobbyist. Hill now represents a handful of North Texas city and town governments in Austin, work for which he could be paid almost $700,000.

Check out the story on www.texaswatchdog.org or follow this link: http://www.texaswatchdog.org/2009/02/former-state-rep-fred-hill-now-lobbying-on-behalf-of-cities-counties/

Critics of the revolving door say voters and taxpayers are unable to tell when lawmakers stop thinking like lawmakers and start thinking like someone on the hunt for a job. And in Hill's case – like many others who have waltzed through the revolving door – he went hunting for work from entities that had much to gain or lose from the actions on his committee: local governments.

Go to Texas Watchdog to get the documents that indicate Hill began thinking about a lobbying job in the months before he left the legislature. He registered his lobbying firm – a limited liability corporation called Solutions for Local Control – with the Secretary of State's office on Nov. 20, records show.

In most cases, lawmakers don't start lobbying duties until their replacement is sworn in. This year, that would have been Jan. 13. But by Jan. 3, the former chairman of the House Local Government Ways and Means Committee was asking for business from local governments, according to documents that can be seen exclusively at Texas Watchdog.

For more information, contact:
Texas Watchdog Editor Trent Seibert at 713-980-9776 or 615-289-9549 or at trent@texaswatchdog.org

Texas Reps say "Back off Fed!"

A group of State Representatives are reasserting Texas' sovereignty as a state over the federal government.

Reps. Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe), Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) and Leo Berman (R-Tyler) filed House Concurrent Resolution 50 on Feb. 17, the purpose of which is to affirm Texas' authority over the federal government and to issue a cease-and-dissist order on all federal laws that infringe on Texas' rights as a state.

Read the full text here.

We're not sure how this resolution will be received by Congress and the current White House administration, but the message will ring crystal clear.

Fred Hill's lobby contracts "don't pass the smell test"

According to this article on TexasWatchdog.org, State-Rep-Turned-Lobbyist Fred Hill is raking in taxpayer dollars from major Texas cities and state associations listed on his ever-growing client roster.

Hill may have left the legislature in early January, but he still has clout. And he’s still being paid with Texans’ tax dollars.

That’s because he’s the latest lawmaker to go through Capitol Hill’s revolving door and become a lobbyist. Hill is now representing a handful of north Texas city and town governments in Austin this year, work for which he would be paid between $395,000-$699,990 this year. Also among his clients are the Dallas Area Rapid Transit system and two local government groups who collect dues from their member local governments.

There should be a cooling off period, so-to-speak, for legislators before they take the jump into a lucrative lobbying career. But Hill apparently jumped at the chance to lobby while he was still a State Representative!

Hill began thinking about a lobbying job in the months before he left the legislature. He announced around the middle of last year that he wouldn’t seek re-election. He registered his firm, a limited liability corporation called Solutions for Local Control, with the Secretary of State’s office on Nov. 20, records show.

In most cases, lawmakers don’t start lobbying duties until their replacement is sworn in. This year, that would have been Jan. 13. But by Jan. 3, the former chairman of the House Local Government Ways and Means Committee was asking for business from local governments.

That’s OK, according to Hill — he says he formally resigned via letter to the governor on Jan. 2.

“This doesn’t pass the smell test,” said Peggy Venable, who leads the Texas branch of Americans For Prosperity, a fiscally conservative taxpayer watchdog. “When did he stop being a representative for his constituents and start being a representative for his lobbying interests?”

Here's an interesting kicker:

Hill says he’s not a lobbyist in the traditional sense. He’s signed on to work for local governments because he believes in fighting for taxpayers and for local control.

The truth is, Hill has never been a friend to taxpayers. He began the fight for more local government growth while still in office, and now he's taking our tax dollars to fight for even more tax dollars to spur local government growth and spending.

Are you mad about the stimulus?

We have every reason to feel betrayed by Congress’ action to pass the so-called Stimulus bill. Even though everyone in Congress voted to allow the American people 48 hours to read the Stimulus in its entirety, Nancy Pelosi has waived that is only allowing everyone 12 hours. Even Congressional members didn’t have the opportunity to read through the over 800 paged bill before voting. The health care portion added into the Stimulus Bill will lead to health care rationing.
www.NoStimulus.com now has 464,435 petition signers against the Stimulus Bill. `

Sen. Cornyn is right - stimulus isn't a good deal for Texans

“A Better Approach That Will Actually Restore America’s Economic Strength Remains Available”

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, today issued the following statement regarding his vote against the conference report on the Democrats’ spending plan:

“A stimulus bill would have been a good idea if it had been focused on the right priorities—fixing housing first, providing taxpayers with meaningful, broad-based tax relief and eliminating redundant and ineffective Washington programs. Instead, we saw Democrats in both chambers redefine ‘stimulus’ to mean nearly anything any of them desired. Many programs in the bill are wasteful and unnecessary. The bill will use taxpayer money for things like golf carts, art projects and company cars for federal employees.

“While proponents like to highlight that the bill will provide Texas with $10 billion in government programs, the bill spends money we don’t have—in fact, Texans’ share of the national debt will increase by $90 billion. This doesn’t seem like a good deal to me.

“As a staunch advocate of open government and transparency, I take serious issue with the fact that Members of Congress and the American public had less than 24 hours to look at the conference report before the final vote.

“A better approach to the stimulus bill that actually creates more opportunity for middle-class families and small businesses and restores America’s economic strength was available. It remains available, and I will continue to build support for an alternative and comprehensive plan.”

Senator Cornyn is committed to finding real solutions:

Fix Housing First
o Supported legislation allowing 3 million Texas homeowners to refinance their mortgages at 4% or 4.5%, saving Texans on average $300 per month.
o Voted to provide a $15,000 tax credit for homebuyers.
Promote broad-based tax relief for Texas families and businesses
o Introduced legislation to lower the 15% tax bracket to 10% and the 10% tax bracket to 5%, saving every Texas taxpayer $1,600 a year.
o Defended struggling small business owners by supporting tax cuts for capital investments and purchases, and increasing bonus depreciation for new investment in equipment and facilities.

Eliminate wasteful spending and strengthen oversight

We can learn from Kennedy, Jefferson and Reagan

This President’s day, it is appropriate to note a few quotes from Thomas Jefferson and Ronald Reagan:



John Kennedy once said to a assembled group of scholars in the White House: I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of Human knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House -- with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone." Kennedy would have also recommended we heed Ronald Reagan...

The quotes below could prove his point.

“To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical,”

- Thomas Jefferson


The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.

~Thomas Jefferson:


It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.

~Thomas Jefferson:

I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.

~Thomas Jefferson

My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.

~Thomas Jefferson


”We don’t have a billion-dollar debt because we have not taxed enough, but we have a billion dollar debt because we spend too much.” – Ronald Reagan



We who live in free market societies believe that growth, prosperity and ultimately human fulfillment, are created from the bottom up, not the government down. Only when the human spirit is allowed to invent and create, only when individuals are given a personal stake in deciding economic policies and benefiting from their success -- only then can societies remain economically alive, dynamic, progressive, and free. Trust the people. -Ronald Reagan


You and I are told we must choose between a left or right, but I suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There is only an up or down. Up to man's age-old dream -- the maximum of individual freedom consistent with order -- or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism. Regardless of their sincerity, their humanitarian motives, those who would sacrifice freedom for security have embarked on this downward path. Plutarch warned, "The real destroyer of the liberties of the people is he who spreads among them bounties, donations and benefits."
- Ronald Reagan, October 27, 1964


"If you serve a child a rotten hamburger in America, federal, state and local agencies will investigate you, summon you, close you down, whatever. But if you provide a child with a rotten education, nothing happens, except that you're liable to be given more money to do it with. Well, we've discovered that money alone isn't the answer." -- President Ronald Reagan

Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction.
--Ronald Reagan


“I hope you will travel … with liberty’s lamp guiding your way.” -- Ronald Reagan

Thanks, Sen. Cornyn

It's well worth a read - and if you have not done so yet, sign up on www.NoStimulus.com and Americans for Prosperity will keep you updated on what is happening with the trillion-dollar spending (stimulus) bill.

Dallas Morning News - February 13, 2009

CORNYN: HERE'S THE BLUEPRINT FOR A REAL STIMULUS

On Monday, President Barack Obama argued that we cannot rely on the same strategies that got our economy into this crisis to get us out of it. I agree. I voted against the economic stimulus bill as it moved through Congress – and will vote against the final bill today – because I believe it replicates a failed strategy. A stimulus bill is a good idea if it's focused on the right priorities, which was Obama's original vision. The administration said it wanted a bill that was timely, targeted and temporary. If the bill had reflected that spirit, the president's goal of 80 votes in the Senate might well have been in reach. But we never saw the bill the president said he wanted. Democrats in Congress redefined "stimulus" to mean nearly anything any of them desired, with predictable results.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/viewpoints/stories/DN-cornyn_13edi.State.Edition1.265c31f.html

Voter identification bill picking up steam

You know common sense is riding in the back seat when you’re required to present more identification at your local movie theater than at your polling place.

But in light of last years’ Supreme Court decision affirming an Indiana law requiring voters to present a photo ID on Election Day, supporters in Texas have the wind at their back.

Recently, the Texas State Senate voted 18-13, with all but one Republican voting with the majority, to exempt a photo ID bill from the rule mandating a two-thirds majority to bring up legislation. The rule blocked a similar effort in 2007.

The vote ensures that Texas is one step closer to having more peace of mind at the polls. Photo identification is a must for everyday life, but not when Americans take government into their own hands and cast a ballot.

Currently, federal law says that first time voters must present identification if they registered by mail and did not verify their identification in their application.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 24 states have laws that go beyond the federal requirements and ask voters to present an ID before casting a ballot, with seven of these states requiring a photo ID. In most cases, a person without a photo ID is allowed to cast a provisional ballot.

Hopefully, as the current legislative session progresses, voting shall become more secure and common sense may be back in the drivers’ seat. Guarantees that opponents will not kick the back of said seat are less than certain.

When Cities Aggregate, watch your wallets

I always want to hold onto my wallet when I hear cities are gathering to do something to -- uh, that is "for" -- their citizens.

Yesterday, the Cities Aggregation Power Project (CAPP) held a press conference. Seems they want to feather their nest -- or someone's nest -- by getting into the electricity ratepayers' pockets.

Currently, the lowest available retail price for electricity in most parts of Texas is lower than the retail price for electricity before the beginning of competition, without even adjusting for inflation.

Texas is far too dependant on natural gas, the prices of which have been very volatile. Texas needs to diversify its generation mix and is working now to do so.

We lead the nation in wind power and have more wind-generated megawatts in this state than in almost anywhere else in the world. But we need coal and other sources to diversify our generation mix and to get additional generation online in a hurry.

It appears CAPP is interesting in serving cities, not ratepayers. The CAPP material states they want to aggregate citizens and "allow" them to opt-out (rather than opt in) and they also advocate becoming Municipally Owned Utilities. Isn't this the real agenda for CAPP? To allow them to become munis (which are not subject to competition).

Someone on a newspaper blog write:
I think there's a lot not being said by CAPP. Cities already get lower prices by joining together for long-term contracts. I wonder who gets paid for negotiating these contracts. Is CAPP involved? Do they benefit? This story raises a number of questions. Maybe a better study would be to compare all rates in Texas -- municipals, co-ops, and investor-owned utilities -- to see if they all have risen because of natural gas rates.

It’s worth looking into.

But then cities which have municipal utilites "munis" aren't subject to competition and their ratepayers are captive customers. And the muni operations can't be compared to a private sector company. Many of us just think cities don't have any business being in the utility business.

Let's use the yellow book rule -- if it can be done in the provite sector, government doesn't need to be doing it.

Texans lead in saying "no" to so-called stimulus bill

Texans don’t want the so-called stimulus bill

Americans for Prosperity has posted the website www.NoStimulus.com and gathered over 200,000 signatures – with more Texans signing the petition than any other state. Why? Texans have been fiscally responsible. Texas has a balanced budget. Gov. Rick Perry has said we don’t need – or want – a federal bail-out. Nor should Texans bail out the free-wheeled spending in California and the other 40-plus states who have a budget deficit.


Texas leaders have been growing our economy, and know how to keep Texas competitive. Frankly, Texas is wiping up. Texas has grown more jobs than all other states combined, and has more Fortune 500 companies than any other state.

Prosperity in the Lone Star State begins at home – and we aren’t counting on government to keep us prosperous. We know that companies – small and large – create jobs, and workers create wealth.

Please go to: www.NoStimulus.com and sign the pledge. Texans don’t want Washington, D.C., spending money we don’t have on things we don’t want.

We must tell our leaders to stop mortgaging our children’s future. Go to: www.NoStimulus.com now!

Senators need to hear from taxpayers

The congressional swithboard has been jammed - but don't hesitate to call to say we don't want the so-called stimulus package. But keep calling: 202-224-2131 AND go to NoStimulus.com and sign up there - you can send an email to your Senators from there!

AFP President Tim Phillips has said it best in a letter he sent to Congress today:
February 5, 2009

Dear Senator:

On behalf of the members of Americans for Prosperity, I am writing to urge you to vote against the so-called American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Congress should not enact an expensive spending bill under the pretense of stimulus or recovery. No matter which amendments pass, the fundamental approach of dramatically increasing federal debt and spending is a mistake. We therefore urge you to vote NO and will rate a vote against the so-called stimulus as a Key Vote for Prosperity in our Congressional ratings.

As I write this letter, more than 42,000 Americans have signed a petition on our web site, NoStimulus.com, and thousands more will likely sign it before you read this letter. They represent a growing majority of the American public who agree with the petition text:

“Congress should not enact an expensive spending bill under the pretense of stimulus or recovery. We cannot spend our way to prosperity, and such an expansion of the federal government will put a crushing burden on taxpayers in the long-term.”

Central planning and bigger government cannot solve our problems. Excessive borrowing to fund consumption was a major cause of our current economic crisis. The first rule of holes is to stop digging, and more than $1 trillion of additional borrow-and-spend big government will only throw more good money after bad. Instead of trying to pick winners and losers from Washington, Congress should cut spending, strip down burdensome regulations and allow individuals and free enterprise to flourish.

We therefore urge you to vote no on the stimulus, regardless of which amendments pass and regardless of any individual provisions that may look attractive.

Sincerely,

Tim Phillips
President
Americans for Prosperity

From Towhnall.com - AFP's DeMint call

Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Americans For Prosperity gets 11,000 plus activists on call with Sen. DeMint
Posted by: Dwayne Horner at 9:07 PM
Over 11,000 conservative grassroots activists joined a call hosted by Americans For Prosperity for a chance to hear from Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and ask questions. Thanks to AFP for putting this call together, here are some quotes from Sen. DeMint:

"What President Obama wants right now is for the Republicans to own this bill with the Democrats. They don't want to own this because they know it's not going to work, they don't want it hung around their heads. If [the Democrats] can get 15 votes then they'll call it bi-partisan and we'll be stuck with it too."

"I am concerned [the Democrats] will do a little tweaking and a few Republicans might think it's an excuse enough to vote for it. We cannot do that, it would be too big of a comprimise. the last thing we need to right now is have more spending."

"My biggest fear right now is that they make a few changes in this bill, throw a few bones to Republicans, a bone to get them to vote for all this spending."

This was in response to a caller saying don't compromise by offering a smaller spending bill -- a bad idea as Sen. DeMint outlines. This is a bad bill, the House GOP stood firm and it is time for the Senate GOP to do the same. This is a porkpalooza designed to pay back all those who helped get Democrats elected in '06 and Obama in '08. Want evidence, go back to my earlier post today that details the pork that is in this bill!

To help oppose the bill, go to nostimulus.com.

Sen. Hutchison votes for increased federal funding for CHIP

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Texas’ senior Senator, today issued the following statement following Senate passage of H.R. 2, the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009:
“Texas has the highest rate of uninsured children in the nation. I voted to reauthorize SCHIP because it provides critical federal funds for young Texans’ health care needs, which are not currently being met. The 72 cent federal match under SCHIP will also deliver a cost savings to state and local taxpayers, so they aren’t paying the full expense of treatment,” said Sen.


Note to Senator: we all pay for SCHIP – whether it is in the state or on our income taxes. The government has no money – it’s all taxpayer dollars.

Update:
News Alert 5:07 p.m. ET Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Obama Signs Bill Expaning Children's Health Care
Move is a first step toward president's promise of universal coverage.
For more information, visit washingtonpost.com

Doesn't this say it all? CHIP expansion is a step toward President's universal coverage. This is very disturbing and disappointing for those of us who oppose universal health care.

City of Austin spends most lobbying the leg

That's right. City Council members are right here in town - they could walk to the Capitol. But they are spending as much as over $1 MILLION on lobbyists. Elise Hu at KVUE is breaking the story. Here's her blog:

http://www.beloblog.com/KVUE_Blogs/politicaljunkie/2009/02/city-of-austins-lobbyists-8300.html

This is from the article:
"Taxpayer watchdog group Americans Prosperity has long opposed taxpayer-funded lobbying, largely because of instances where the taxpayers are footing the bill for priorities against their own interests (i.e. opposing appraisal caps).

"We believe the whole idea of taxpayer funded lobbying distorts the process. We believe our elected officials should be talking to one another. We elect them to do just that. We don't elect lobbyists and we shouldn't be paying for them," said Peggy Venable, AFP's State Director."

But you need to check out the full blog to see the jaw-dropping facts and figures Elise Hu provided!

The US can eliminate dependence on foreign oil

I received an email that was astounding. Having worked at the US Department of the Interior (DOI), and USGS is under DOI, I checked it out and the information is accurate.

The U.S. Geological Service (USGS) issued a report in April ('08) that only scientists and oilmen knew was coming, but man was it big. It was a revised report (hadn't been updated since '95) on how much oil was in this area of the western 2/3 of North Dakota ; western South Dakota; and extreme eastern Montana ... check THIS out:

The Bakken is the largest domestic oil discovery since Alaska's Prudhoe Bay , and has the potential to eliminate all American dependence on foreign oil. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates it at 503 billion barrels. Even if just 10% of the oil is recoverable... at $107 a barrel, we're looking at a resource base worth more than $5.3 trillion.

When I first briefed legislators on this, you could practically see their jaws hit the floor. They had no idea.' says Terry
Johnson, the Montana Legislature's financial analyst.

This sizable find is now the highest-producing onshore oil field found in the past 56 years,' reports The Pittsburgh Post
Gazette. It's a formation known as the Williston Basin , but is more commonly referred to as the 'Bakken.' And it stretches from Northern Montana, through North Dakota and into Canada . For years, U.S.oil exploration has been considered a dead end. Even the 'Big Oil' companies gave up searching for major oil wells decades ago. However, a recent technological break through has opened up the Bakken's massive ? ? ? reserves... and we now have access of up to 500 billion barrels. And because this is light, sweet oil, those billions of barrels will cost Americans just $16 PER BARREL!

That's enough crude to fully fuel the American economy for 41 years straight.

[And if THAT didn't throw you on the floor, then this next one should - because it's from TWO YEARS AGO, people!]

U.S.Oil Discovery- Largest Reserve in the World!

Stansberry Report Online - 4/20/2006 Hidden 1,000 feet beneath the surface of the Rocky Mountains lies the largest untapped oil reserve in the world is more than 2 TRILLION barrels. On August 8, 2005 President Bush mandated its extraction.

They reported this stunning news: We have more oil inside our borders, than all the other proven reserves on earth. Here are the official estimates :

-8-times as much oil as Saudi Arabia
-18-times as much oil as Iraq
-21-times as much oil as Kuwait
-22-times as much oil as Iran
-500-times as much oil as Yemen- and it's a ll right here in the Western United States .

HOW can this BE? HOW can we NOT BE extracting this!? Because the democrats, environmentalists and left wing republicans have blocked all efforts to help America become independent of foreign oil.

James Bartis, lead researcher with the study says we've got more oil in this very compact area than the entire Middle East
-more than 2 TRILLION barrels. Untapped. That's more than all the proven oil reserves of crude oil in the world today, reports The Denver Post.


Don't think 'OPEC' will drop its price - even with this find? Think again! It's all about the competitive marketplace, - it has to.
----
[Got your attention up yet? Hope so! Now, while you're thinking about it ... and hopefully P.O'd, do this:

Pass this along..

If you don't take a little time to do this, then you should stifle yourself the next time you want to complain about gas prices .. because by doing NOTHING, you've forfeited your right to complain.
--------


Now I just wonder what would happen in this country if every one of you sent this to every one in your address book.

Google states that the Bakken Discovery was the largest oil discovered in the United States.

GOOGLE it or follow this link.? It will blow your mind.
http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=1911

Dallas Hearbreak Hotel

The Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) has written a piece: the Heartbreak Hotel…and we agree with their assessment.

Dallas city leaders are eager for Dallas taxpayers to be funding a hotel that should be built by the private sector, if it is built at all.

I was convention director for the Republican National Committee when the '84 Republican National Convention was held in Dallas. I staffed the convention search committee and was responsible for all the convention logistics, facilities and set-up.

Never once did we want -- or expect -- a hotel to be attached to the convention center. And large conventions require much more housing than the Heartbreak Hotel could accommodate.

We too have fought against taxpayer-funded hotels, convention centers and sports arenas. Thanks for what IPI is doing! Here is their piece below. - Peggy Venable, Americans for Prosperity-Texas


February 2, 2009 – IPI

Heartbreak Hotel

A thousand rooms! A 50,000-square-foot ballroom! A spa! A $525 million price tag! Just the kind of quarters you might want to luxuriate in as a Dallas convention-goer.

That’s the projections for the new city-owned convention hotel. And Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert wants taxpayers to pony up the votes—and the bucks—to put the city in the hotel business.

The mayor and local-convention promoters say 22 other cities already have convention center hotels. And unless Big D follows suit, economic-weather forecasts call for the loss of “$800 million in direct spending and $2.6 billion in annual economic impact.”

But since politicians almost always understate the costs of projects and programs they support and overstate the revenues, we think it’s a break-even deal at best—and most likely a money loser.

Does Dallas, which in 2007 hosted only five citywide conventions, need such a project when major convention business is draining off to fun localities like Las Vegas and Orlando—if they’re having any functions at all?

Consider that in the comparatively sun-splashed economy of 2007, downtown Dallas hotels (offering 6,500 rooms) ran nearly 46 percent empty. And the mayor wants to add another thousand rooms on top of that. The new government-owned hotel would inevitably siphon off customers from the already-existing private hotels—making their efforts to stay afloat even more daunting.

To be clear: We have no objection to a convention center hotel. We just don’t think the city should be in the hotel business. Dallas voters will get to decide in a May referendum whether to ban through a city charter amendment the public ownership of convention center hotels.

While the mayor’s efforts to bring more conventions to Dallas are surely well-intended, we think a city-owned hotel—especially in this economic climate—would lead to heartbreak for everyone … and especially taxpayers.

Two Texas legislators honored with Bell Leadership Awards

I commend the Texas Association of School Administrators for presenting two Texas teachers with an award for excellence in leadership. I worked for Secreatary of Education Terrell Bell in Washington, D.C., and appreciate TASA's honoring two educators with Terrel H. Bell Award.

Carlotta Brown, principal of Lora Peck Elementary in the Houston Independent School District, and Diane Parks, principal of Taylor Ray Elementary in the Lamar CISD, recently received the Terrel H. Bell Leadership Award from the Texas Association of School Administrators.

The award is named for Terrel H. Bell, a Secretary of Education under President Ronald Reagan who worked as a bus driver, teacher, principal and superintendent of schools before being named to the president's cabinet. The award recognizes outstanding educators who overcome difficult circumstances.

Brown followed her mother's footsteps to become a first-grade teacher in Houston and rose to become principal of Peck Elementary, which moved her school from an Academically Acceptable accountability rating to a Recognized rating in less than three years. Parks, who has served as principal at two schools in Lamar CISD, used data to determine which students needed targeted interventions and 100 percent of those students met the standards in math and writing and 99 percent met the standards in reading and science on the 2007 TAKS test.

Congratulations to these dedicated educators! - Peggy M. Venable