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1/28/08 Newsletter

Citizen Journalism Focused on Liberty, Conservatism and Independent Thought

 

Newsletter: Senator Judith Zaffirini's $12,655 Reception (Exclusive)

Report and Commentary by Joe Solis/South Texas Republicans

 Zaffarini Picture

Picture Source: Walker Report Blog
 

It must have been one heck of a party.

The 2 hour reception honoring the senator cost $12,655.07.
 

What in the world did these people drink and eat?

The purpose of this story is to demonstrate why citizens are so frustrated with their leaders and government.
 

Let's start with some recent history.

This newsletter disclosed that H.E.B. billionaire Charles Butt and AT & T super lobbyist John T. Montford hosted a San Antonio fundraiser for the Webb County based Senator on October 11, 2007.  This is a link of the original story.

A recent Texas Ethics Commission report disclosed that Mr. Butt not only donated $20,000 to the senator, but he covered the $12,655.07 bill for the "Reception."
 Click here for a link to the report.

This is a free country.  Billionaire Butt can spend his money in any way he chooses.  I have no issue with this donation or his left leaning political activism that I may not care for. It is his money.

There is a public policy issue that needs to be considered.
 

Senate District 21 contains some of the poorest counties in Texas. 

There are serious poverty issues in counties including Webb that runs along the border.  Come on down to South Texas for one day to get a taste of it.

We are living at a time when folks are having a tough time making their electric and mortgage payments.  Working parents are dealing with sky rocketing expenses including gasoline and education.
 

Why in the world would Senator Judith Zaffirini allow a $12,655 cocktail party to be held in her honor during such a challenging economy?

This makes no sense for a Democrat who is an advocate for the working class.
 

Let there be no doubt.  Voters are disgusted with this kind of behavior.

Advocate for the poor, but spend $12,655 on a cocktail party for your friends.
 

All of us just roll our eyes and think the same thing, "Can you imagine what they are doing with our tax dollars in Austin?"

This is a great example of our leaders being out of touch with citizens.
 

$12,655 for a 2 hour reception!

$105 per minute!
 

What a pathetic waste of money.

Is there a way for voters to voice their discontent in the primary?
 

There is.  This will really intrigue you.  Senator Judith Zaffirini was going to be challenged by Democrat millionaire Rene Barrientos in the primary.  He left the race AFTER entering the race for personal reasons.  (The man was going to be put through a grinder and he knew it.  Do you remember the Dewhurst campaign against John Sharp?  This one was going to be far worse.)
 

Is Rene gone?  No, he is not.  It turns out his name is still on the ballot.
 

The Senator is livid based on insider reports.

To add insult to injury, he won a place to be first on the ballot even though he is not in the race.  Zaffirini associates are getting nervous about this.  What if Rene jumps back in at the very last minute?  What if voters decide to make a protest vote against the Senator?
 

Voters now have a choice that is limited and unique.

A vote for Rene Barrientos in the primary is a strong statement.
 

We demand change even if we do not get a change in leadership.

Senator Zaffirini, focus on the citizens of the county and no more $12,655 parties in the future. You were given a pass in the primary.  The whisper campaign against Mr. Barrientos was very effective. It is time to reform and lead.

 

"Standing by the Surge" by: Congressman Lamar Smith


Lamar Smith
 

Congressman Smith visits with members of the 4th Battalion, 133rd Field Artillery, Texas Army National Guard.

Just a year after announcing an additional surge of troops, Iraq is becoming more secure, stable and democratic.

The "surge" placed additional troops in Iraq with a mission to protect the Iraqi people. We must trust the men and women in uniform who are sacrificing their lives to protect ours. One of the worst mistakes the United States could make would be to abandon Iraq while the military surge is working.

On September 10-11, 2007, General David Petraeus, Commander of the Multi-National Force - Iraq, testified before Congress on progress in Iraq. General Petraeus testified that, "it is possible to achieve our objectives in Iraq over time, although doing so will be neither quick nor easy."

The surge is enabling the Iraqi government to stand on its own and provide for its own security. Iraq's security forces have been growing and now consist of more than 500,000 personnel. There has been a 55 percent increase in the Iraqi army since 2006.

Though progress has been made, many challenges remain. The men and women in our armed forces face one of the gravest threats of our time. Each day our troops confront terrorists who hate our country, our citizens, our freedoms and our way of life.

I believe we cannot become a crutch for the Iraqi government. The Iraqi government now needs to work on providing political stability, basic services for its citizens and strengthening its economy.

General Petraeus' recommendations are working. The surge is effective and has produced a safer Iraq. Despite these great strides, we cannot hand over security responsibility to Iraqi forces and immediately pull out. Our troops are still providing vital services that will lead to long-term stability in the country.

Attacks have decreased by 60 percent since full surge operations began in June 2007. More than 75 percent of Baghdad neighborhoods are now secure. Only eight percent of neighborhoods were secure a year ago before the surge. Terrorist attacks are down 55 percent since full surge operations and civilian fatalities have decreased 60 percent.

My hope and expectation is that our troops can begin returning home soon. A free and stable Iraq is critical to the security of the United States and standing by our generals and the surge, can only benefit our country.

 
"These are some of the reasons why I am supporting Tony Kosub." By Sudie Sartor

[Note from the editor: Mr. Kosub is challenging State Representative Frank Corte in the Republican primary.  This unedited letter was sent to us recently by one of our loyal readers.  This newsletter will always be a source for alternative points of view in South Texas.]

My name is Sudie Sartor and I, like many other Texans, am ready for a change in our leadership in Austin.  I am so tired of the lack of communication and arrogance of most of our elected officials in Austin.  Frank Corte is one of them we need to change.  That is why am supporting Tony Kosub for State Representative District 122. 
During the 2007 Legislative Session I went to Austin several times for various hearings and to speak with all of the elected officials I could get in to see.  On May 25th 2007 Terri Hall and I went to Austin to visit with Legislative members about HB 792, we were there to represent the San Antonio Toll Party and HB 792 was a bill we did not support.  

As is the requirement outside the House of Representatives, we filled out the necessary form to request to speak with members of the House and the forms would be sent into the Representatives on the floor to let them know you were outside to speak with them.  Then you wait.  We filled out a form for Frank Corte that morning, I believe Terri Hall's name may have been on that form.  Mr. Corte didn't come out that morning so after lunch I sent in a form with my name, I was a constituent, and Mr. Corte should come out for a constituent. I had met with Mr. Corte previously at his office in San Antonio so I thought he might remember my name, but my name shouldn't have mattered. My Representative shouldn't have to know whom I am in order for him to talk to me when I have made the trip all the way to Austin. Frank Corte never came out.  I even ask if he was there and was told he was.

The entire 30+ Representative (including all of the San Antonio area Reps) that we requested to speak to that day took the time to come out and talk with us, all but Frank Corte.  The Representatives that came out to speak with us did not represent us, but they came out to speak with a voter that had made the effort to come to Austin.  We were the only voters that we saw all day waiting to speak with the Representatives. It was apparent that the other people that were waiting to see Representatives were paid Lobbyists, and that is another issue that is a problem with our Government. 

Tony Kosub believes in limited government, sound fiscal stewardship, greater personal freedom and individual responsibility and is against the tolling of our existing roads.  These are some of the reasons why I am supporting Tony Kosub.

 

Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom, (www.TexasTURF.org)
by Terri Hall

Terri Hall pic
 

Toll Party not shy about Corte's record
Corte voted for Governor's market-based tolls, the highest possible toll tax
 
(San Antonio, TX, January 27, 2008) At Tony Kosub's campaign kick-off yesterday, San Antonio Toll Party Founder, Terri Hall reminded supporters of the many toll tax hikes Frank Corte loaded onto his constituents, market-based tolls among them.
 
Express-News Columnist Jaime Castillo said this about market-based tolls once he caught wind of them in the Governor's counterfeit moratorium bill, SB 792: "If you want to raise funds for other projects, keep jacking up the toll price until drivers cry 'uncle,' and then back it off a penny or two" (Express-News, July 22, 2008).
 
Corte voted for this new scheme where traditional toll taxes based on the actual cost of construction and bond debt were replaced with market-based tolls based on the nebulous concept of "whatever customers would be willing to pay." This doesn't bode well for Corte in a heavily Republican district who sent him to Austin to lower taxes and limit government.
 
Another tax grab Corte supported is the complete conversion of US 281 into a tollway. According to the Federal Register published August 30, 2007, every single freeway lane will be converted to a toll lane on US 281, with access roads as the non-toll lanes. Converting freeways to tollways without a public vote has since been outlawed (HB 2702), but Corte has not only voted to allow this freeway conversion (repudiated by the entire South Texas Congressional delegation), he's refused to step-in.
 
"The road improvements and overpasses to 281 have been paid for with our gas taxes since 2003. Here we are FIVE years later, and it hasn't been fixed, why? Because Frank Corte is part of the leadership in Austin that puts one man's agenda, Rick Perry's, above the best interest of the Party and of Texans," Hall emphasized.
 
"Corte voted to give TxDOT unprecedented power so that Texans won't get ANY new lanes, or ANY congestion relief unless they pay a double tax, a toll tax," Hall noted.
 
The full text of Hall's speech is below:
 
This is an exciting day for the San Antonio Toll Party for two reasons:
1)    We have a candidate to unseat a pro-toll incumbent in District 122

2)    We have a candidate who actually inspires us! That candidate is Tony Kosub.

He's a man of incorruptible character, who's genuine and sincere in his convictions, and who actually cares about people. His life's work is investing in our children as a middle school teacher and coach. He doesn't just talk; he lives what he believes.
 
I first met Tony Kosub at one of our events a number of years ago, and Tony not only took it upon himself to get educated and involved in fighting tolls roads and the Trans Texas Corridor, he began to take an interest in the larger fight against overbearing, abusive government, an escalating tax burden, and out of control government spending while "we the people" had to keep tightening our belts. Tony Kosub desperately desired to remedy the growing problem of the disconnect between us and our elected representatives, particularly in his own backyard, District 122.
 
Let me give you a glimpse into just how bad that disconnect is with Frank Corte. After thousands of emails, phone calls, meetings with constituents, and even traveling to Austin during the session, it became abundantly clear that Frank Corte refused to represent his constituents, showing stubborn indifference to the most egregious highway robbery, tax and spend feeding frenzy ever to hit his district..the complete conversion of the 281 FREEway into a tollway in a DOUBLE TAX NIGHTMARE for our lifetimes.
 
The road improvements and overpasses to 281 have been paid for with our gas taxes since 2003. Here we are FIVE years later, and it hasn't been fixed, why? Because Frank Corte is part of the leadership in Austin that puts one man's agenda, Rick Perry's, above the best interest of the Party and of Texans.
 
Corte claims to be a conservative. His record on taxes demonstrate, he's NO fiscal conservative. He voted to increase a host of taxes, but the largest tax increase of all will be paying a new toll tax on roads we've already built and paid for, like 281, 1604, and I-10..all in District 122.   He voted to give TxDOT unprecedented power so that Texans won't get ANY new lanes, or ANY congestion relief unless they pay a double tax, a toll tax.
 
We're already feeling the pain at the pump with gas prices at record highs and no end in sight. Frank Corte is on the energy committee and has taken plenty of money from the energy industry yet Texans couldn't be farther from energy independence than we are right now, on his watch.
 
Tony Kosub is not only a fresh face for District 122, but he's also a problem solver. He comes from the people and understands the economic stress that both business and families are under and he knows how to relieve it..by returning to the principles we know will work. The principles of less government (starting with reining-in government spending), lower taxes, and greater accountability to the taxpayers..starting with TxDOT, of course, an agency full of waste, fraud, and abuse who has already recklessly taken Texas into a toll tax slush fund road building frenzy, but that now has also clearly crossed the line by illegally hiring lobbyists on the taxpayer's dime!

I know you'll agree, that it's time for change in Texas. It's time to throw off politicians who defend government instead of their constituents, who refuse to listen to the people who pay the bills, and who represent the status quo even to the detriment of citizens. We CANNOT keep sending the same ol' career politicians to Austin and expect different results. We need new leadership.

It is with great confidence that the San Antonio Toll Party gives our endorsement to Tony Kosub. I can't think of anyone more equipped for the task ahead of him, who has the values to get us headed in the right direction, and who has the uncompromising conviction it will take to resist the forces of big government and the tax and spend mentality that has taken over Austin.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's my privilege to introduce you to the next State Representative for District 122, Tony Kosub!
 
For more information and to view the video of Kosub on toll roads, visit www.TaxpayersforTony.com
 

 

Gerhard Schroder

"Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, political prisoners, POWs, and resistance fighters from across Europe were exterminated with cold industrial perfection or were enslaved and worked to death."  Gerhard Schröder


Upon the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz by Russian soldiers, a commemoration was held in a Berlin theater. Organized by the International Auschwitz Committee, attendees included Holocaust survivors and various political functionaries including German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. Standing before a film screen depicting a photo of Auschwitz, Schröder gave this remarkable speech containing some of the most forthright sentiments regarding the Holocaust yet expressed by a leader of postwar Germany.


Survivors of Auschwitz-Birkenau,

Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to thank the International Auschwitz Committee for the invitation to speak to you here today.

In my estimation an invitation of this kind is still not something that can be taken for granted. It would be fitting for us Germans to remain silent in the face of what was the greatest crime in the history of mankind. Words by government leaders are inadequate when confronted with the absolute immorality and senselessness of the murder of millions.

We look for rational understanding of something that is beyond human comprehension. We seek definitive answers, but in vain.

What is left is the testimony of those few who survived and their descendants.

What is left are the remains of the sites of these murders and the historical record.

What is left also is the certainty that these extermination camps were a manifestation of absolute evil.

Evil is not a political or scientific category. But, after Auschwitz, who could doubt that it exists, and that it manifested itself in the hate-driven genocide carried out by the Nazi regime? However, noting this fact does not permit us to circumvent our responsibility by blaming everything on a demonic Hitler. The evil manifested in the Nazi ideology was not without its precursors. There was a tradition behind the rise of this brutal ideology and the accompanying loss of moral inhibition. Above all, it needs to be said that the Nazi ideology was something that people supported at the time and that they took part in putting into effect.

Now, sixty years after the liberation of Auschwitz by the Red Army, I stand before you as the representative of a democratic Germany. I express my shame for the deaths of those who were murdered and for the fact that you, the survivors, were forced to go through the hell of a concentration camp.

Chelmno, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, Maidanek, and Auschwitz-Birkenau are names that will forever be associated with the history of the victims as well as with German and European history. We know that.

We bear this burden with sadness, but also with a serious sense of responsibility.

Millions of men, women, and children were gassed, starved, or shot by German SS troops and their helpers.

Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, political prisoners, POWs, and resistance fighters from across Europe were exterminated with cold industrial perfection or were enslaved and worked to death.

Never before had there been a worse breakdown of thousands of years of European culture and civilization. After the war it took some time before the full extent of this breakdown was realized. We are aware of it, but I doubt that we will ever be able to understand it. The past cannot be "overcome." It is the past. But its traces and, above all, the lessons to be learned from it extend to the present.

There will never be anything that can make up for the horror, the torment, and the agony that took place in the concentration camps. It is only possible to provide the families of those who died and the survivors a certain amount of compensation.

Germany has faced this responsibility for a long period of time now with its government policies and court decisions, supported by a sense of justice on the part of the people.

The young men and women in the photo we see here were freed in the summer of 1945. Most survivors went in different directions after their liberation: to Israel, to North and South America, to neighboring European countries, or back to their countries of origin.

However, some of them stayed in or returned to Germany, the country where the so-called 'Final Solution' originated.

It was an extraordinarily difficult decision for them, and often enough it was not a voluntary decision, but rather the result of total desperation. However, hope did return to their disrupted lives, and many did remain in Germany, and we are grateful for that.

Today the Jewish community in Germany is the third-largest in Europe. It is full of vitality and growing rapidly. New synagogues are being built. The Jewish community is and will remain an irreplaceable part of our society and culture. Its brilliant as well as painful history will continue to be both an obligation and a promise for the future.

We will use the powers of government to protect it against the anti-Semitism of those who refuse to learn the lessons of the past. There is no denying that anti-Semitism continues to exist. It is the task of society as a whole to fight it. It must never again become possible for anti-Semites to attack and cause injury to Jewish citizens in our country or any other country and in doing so bring disgrace upon our nation.

Right-wing extremists, with their spray-painted slogans, have the special attention of our law enforcement and justice authorities. But the process of dealing politically with neo-Nazis and former Nazis is something we all need to do together.

It is the duty of all democrats to provide a strong response to neo-Nazi incitement and recurrent attempts on their part to play down the importance of the crimes perpetrated by the Nazi regime. For the enemies of democracy and tolerance there can be no tolerance.

The survivors of Auschwitz have called upon us to be vigilant, not to look away, and not to pretend we don't hear things. They have called upon us to acknowledge human rights violations and to do something about them. They are being heard, particularly by young people, for instance by those who are looking at the Auschwitz memorial today with their own eyes. They are speaking with former prisoners. They are helping to maintain and preserve the memorial. They will also help to inform future generations of the crimes committed by the Nazi regime.

The vast majority of the Germans living today bear no guilt for the Holocaust. But they do bear a special responsibility. Remembrance of the war and the genocide perpetrated by the Nazi regime has become part of our living constitution. For some this is a difficult burden to bear.

Nonetheless this remembrance is part of our national identity. Remembrance of the Nazi era and its crimes is a moral obligation. We owe it to the victims, we owe it to the survivors and their families, and we owe it to ourselves.

It is true, the temptation to forget is very great. But we will not succumb to this temptation.

The Holocaust memorial in the center of Berlin cannot restore the lives or the dignity of the victims. It can perhaps serve survivors and their descendants as a symbol of their suffering. It serves us all as a reminder of the past.

We know one thing for sure. There would be no freedom, no human dignity, and no justice if we were to forget what happened when freedom, justice, and human dignity were desecrated by government power. Exemplary efforts are being undertaken in many German schools, in companies, in labor unions, and in the churches. Germany is facing up to its past.

From the Shoa and Nazi terror a certainty has arisen for us all that can best be expressed by the words "never again." We want to preserve this certainty. All Germans, but also all Europeans, and the entire international community need to continue to learn to live together with respect, humanity, and in peace.

The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was a direct effect of the Holocaust on international law. It requires people of different cultural, religious, and racial origins to respect and protect life and human dignity throughout the world. You in the International Auschwitz Committee support this with the exemplary work you are doing in the interest of all people.

Together with you I bow my head before the victims of the death camps. Even if one day the names of the victims should fade in the memory of mankind, their fate will not be forgotten. They will remain in the heart of history.

Gerhard Schröder - January 25, 2005

Source: The History Place Web Site
 
"The Republicrat PLUS" (A Moderate Viewpoint)

This is a series by 3 anonymous political insiders in Bexar County and one in Webb County. The views of this section do not represent the views of South Texas Republicans PAC.
 

Not too much happening around the Bexar County Democratic Party except..

Word is that Judge Mary Roman is in political hot water as she is contested in the Democratic Primary because of her courtroom decisions.  
 

Her opponent, lawyer Anthony Zamora is making some really outlandish statements about her and questioning her ability to rule on cases. It would appear he has a vendetta against her for some reason. Many in the Party are wondering why he is challenging her rather than a Republican.

Rumors are swirling that numerous judges are fed up with her arrogant attitude and her prosecutorial demeanor in her courtroom. Some lawyers whine that they don't like practicing in her court. Perhaps the upstart Anthony Zamora may know something that we don't. Only time will tell. 

The last tidbit of news is that challenger Brent de la Paz is making in- roads with some local and vocal Democratic dissenters on his bid to unseat Democratic Party Chair Carla Vela.

Carla claims Mikal Watts is funding her opponent. In an Express-News article, former Senatorial candidate Mikal Watts and trial attorney claims he does not even know Brent. Yet some supporters like Mario Bravo, a former Watts employee is passing out a picture of Brent that appears to have been taken at Watts home in his back yard in front of his pool. Somebody is telling fibs. The question is who? It is likely that the truth will eventually prevail and we will be apprised of that gossip. Again, only time will tell. 

That is the moderate view, I AM the Republicrat.
Thanks for reading the new edition of South Texas Republicans.  We welcome your comments, complaints and suggestions.  Joe Solis, Founder and Director 
(SolisJoe@sbcglobal.net)