Tag Archives: Texas Politics

Servergy Sued Again for Fraud

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Servergy, Inc. – the company at the center of Attorney General Ken Paxton’s legal woes – has been sued by a group of Alabama investors who claim they were defrauded into purchasing shares of the company.  The suit alleges that Servergy made numerous misrepresentations about its business to entice new investors to buy into the company.  The investors claim that Servergy made unsupported claims about the sales of its signature product  – a small server – and represented that IBM and other giants were poised to buy the company.  Paxton himself brought investors to the table without revealing that he was getting a commission.  Tea Party favorite Paxton never bought into the company but did receive 100,000 shares as a gift that he somehow forgot to put on his tax returns and his required disclosures with the Texas Ethics Commission.

Today in Texas History – August 11

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From the Annals of the Political Machines –  In 1914, the Duval County Courthouse in San Diego burned down taking with it most of the evidence that might have revealed the criminal activity of legendary South Texas boss Archer Parr.  Parr ran a powerful political machine that controlled Duval County and beyond. Parr was 22 when he settled in Duval County in 1882.  By 1907 he had control of the local Democratic Party and was the undisputed political boss of Duval County.  He maintained his control with the help of local Hispanics who kept voting Parr and his cronies into office in elections stained by corruption and fraud.  He ran Duval County as his personal business enterprise parsing out County funds to himself, his machine and the local poor folks who did receive some modest benefits from their boss.  The fire occurred during an audit of County finances that resulted in the indictment of Parr – by then a Texas State Senator.  But the fire likely destroyed the evidence needed to secure a conviction and Parr escaped further prosecution.  Parr’s control over the County was consolidated and he built a considerable personal fortune on the backs of his constituents.  The Parr family continued to control the County with Parr’s son George taking over after his death in 1942.  Parr family domination continued until at least 1975.

Texas’ Very Own Spineless Weasel from the Species bushpolitico spinoabsentata

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George Pee Bush endorsed Donald Trump for President on Monday and urged other to vote for the man who had such nice things to say about dear old Dad JEB!!!!$$$$? (damn it feels good to type that one again!).  Here’s a sample.

“He’s a total stiff, Jeb Bush.”  Red has to disagree here as this seems to imply the presence of a spine – something demonstrably lacking in this species.

“Loser.” Hard to argue with that one in retrospect.

“The last thing we need is another Bush.”  Again, Red has to concede on that one – but shouldn’t George Pee be taking notes for future reference.

“Not a smart man.”  Trump nails it again. Red has it on good authority that JEB!!!!$$$$?’s college roommate referred to him as “the stupidest person I have ever met.”

“Here’s a guy, honestly, if he weren’t in government, you wouldn’t hire him to do anything, okay? If you had a company you wouldn’t even hire him.”  But wouldn’t the lack of hiring prevent the Donald from using his “You’re Fired” tag line. Oh well, sacrifices must be made for the greater cause.

“I don’t have a lot of respect for Jeb. Jeb’s a lightweight.”    Red assumes that “featherweight” is a bit too obscure.

“He’s a sad person who has gone absolutely crazy. I mean, this guy is a nervous wreck.”  Cue the violins.

And finally, the greatest insult of all.

“He’s an embarrassment to his family.”  Considering the considerable competition in the familial embarrassment category available from big brother’s track record of incompetence, Dad’s humiliating loss to Slick Willie and little brother’s shameful business dealings, Red can’t really imagine that anything worse could be said about JEB!!!!$$$$?

So what kind of completely spineless weasel, suck up, sycophant endorses someone who has said these things about his father?

 

 

Texas Loosens Voter ID Requirement

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Texas agreed Wednesday to significantly weaken its voter ID law, which federal courts have said discriminated against minorities and the poor and left more than 600,000 registered voters potentially unable to cast a ballot.

Faced with a direct rebuke from the Fifth Circuit and a complete lack of evidence of in-person voter fraud, Texas has loosened its voter ID requirements for the November election.  Voters without one of the absurd list of seven forms of suitable ID — which includes  concealed handgun permits, but not college IDs —  can now sign an affidavit and vote.  And that vote will be counted.  This provision essentially guts the law.  This is a remarkable failure of the Texas GOP’s attempt to suppress voter turnout – an effort that likely failed anyway.

The state also agreed to $2.5 million on voter outreach before November pursuant to the settlement submitted to U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos, who must still approve the changes.

Red can already hear the outcry from Our Poor Idiot Governor Greg Abbott about how this will allow massive voter fraud at the polls despite the utter lack of any such evidence.  Republicans can take their cue from nominee Donald Trump who is already claiming that  the presidential election will be “rigged” against him. No sir, it is your party who has repeatedly attempted to “rig” elections by enacting numerous state laws designed to suppress voter turnout.

Ken Paxton Butts in Again

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Vexatious litigant and embattled Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed another lawsuit to waste taxpayer dollars and deflect attention from his own considerable legal woes.   Paxton is suing the City of Austin for an alleged violation of the state’s open carry law by banning guns from its city hall, according to the Austin American-Statesman.  Red predicts that Mr. P will fail in his efforts to coerce Austin into complying with his Tea Party and NRA agenda.  The language of the open carry law provides that guns can be prohibited in courts or “offices utilized by the court.”  Austin’s city hall (and many others in Texas) frequently hold various types of court proceedings.  Austin temple of local democracy, for example, hosts a community court for low-level offenders, and the City based its gun ban on that fact. Whether that’s actually a court is an open question. Three weeks ago, Paxton issued a non-binding AG’s opinion claiming there is no court in Austin’s city hall and threatened to sue Austin unless it blinked first.  City officials apparently had little respect for the legal stylings of an indicted AG.  Paxton, ever eager for a spotlight that will cement his Tea Party bona fides has now sued.

Is There Anything Ted Cruz Doesn’t Lie About (cont.)?

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At the first Republican debate, Sen. Ted Cruz (TP-Texas) emphatically agreed that he would support the GOP nominee.  His pledge was unequivocal.  The curious thing about the question is that it was largely directed at Trump – who was already hinting at a third-party run if he couldn’t get the GOP nod.

But on Thursday morning speaking to the Texas delegation  – which largely worships at the fount of all things Ted Cruz – the junior senator refused to back down from his failure to endorse or even tacitly support Donald Trump during his prime-time speech on Wednesday.  When asked by a member of the delegation why he was back-pedaling on his previous pledge, Cruz claimed it was because of Trump’s attacks on his family.

“I am not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my father. And that pledge was not a blanket commitment that if you slander and attack Heidi I’m going to nonetheless go like a servile puppy dog.”

No Cruz is not a servile puppy dog – he is a vicious Rottweiler-Chihuahua mix that will chew up anything that stands in the path of his enormous ego and his overweening ambition.  Cruz obviously believes that Trump will be defeated in November and he is not going down on the USS Donald.  Trump’s attacks on his family are just a convenient excuse for Cruz to play the wounded warrior standing up for truth, justice and the Canadian way.   It is so hard for Cruz to stand to the side and see such a lesser man – as indeed all men are compared to Ted – take the helm of the GOP.

 

 

Ted Cruz Booed Off Stage at GOP Convention

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Sen. Ted Cruz (TP-Texas) refused to endorse GOP nominee Donald Trump on Wednesday and exited the stage to a chorus of boos.  Even Cruz’s wife Heidi had to be escorted from the hall as epithets and insults rained down on her.  Cruz, perhaps the greatest narcissist to ever run for the Presidency (and that would be setting quite a standard), congratulated Trump on winning and then went on to give a speech that did not again mention his name.  Instead, Cruz took the opportunity to undermine the building sense of unity at the convention and instead lay the groundwork for a 2020 run in the event that Trump loses.  Seldom has there been a more naked attempt to promote a future candidacy at the expense of party unity and victory for the current nominee

As reported by the Texas Tribune, Texas delegate Shaun Ireland said it worked against party unity: “There was so much good feeling and unity at this convention for three days, and Ted Cruz just came in and cravenly threw it against a brick wall just so he could set himself up for 2020.” 

Anyone who knows anything about the Texas junior senator could not be in the least surprised that he gave a speech that was largely about his future and not focused on his previously beloved and now hated rival Trump.  It must be hard for Cruz to stand aside and let lesser men – and that would be every person alive other than Cruz himself – take the reins of the party and possibly the country.   So Cruz has either set himself up for a 2020 run or poisoned the GOP well.  Time will tell.  The only certain thing is that we have not heard the last of Tea Party hero and that his ego will demand at least three more attempts at winning the GOP nod.

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Quote for the Day

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“Let no one be mistaken Donald Trump’s candidacy is a cancer on conservatism and it must be clearly diagnosed, excised, and discarded.  It cannot be pacified or ignored for it will destroy a set of principles that has lifted more people out of poverty than any force in the history of the civilized world and that is the cause of conservatism.”

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, before he saw the light and the possibility of continuing to suck at the government teat as a fixture in a Trump regency.   Red wonders how yesterday’s cancer so quickly becomes the star to which Perry now hitches his wagon.

Paxton’s Pals Pay to Keep Politician out of Pokey

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“Friends” of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton gave him almost $330,000 to help pay for his legal defense against felony securities fraud charges, according to Paxton’s most recent filing with the Texas Ethics Commission.   Paxton’s personal financial statement establishes that he is funding a high-profile criminal defense team with the help of so-called friends and associates.  And not a single one of those friends and/or associates expects a single favor in return for helping keep Paxton out of the pokey.

 Paxton is using a loophole in the state ethics laws that allow state officials to keep gifts from people who are allegedly not seeking anything in return.  Under state bribery laws, elected officials are not allowed to receive gifts from people or entities subject to their authority.  But as attorney general, Paxton has authority over a wide range of legal issues and controls the state’s largest law department   Nonetheless,  Paxton sought an exception allowing “gifts from family members and those ‘independent’ of an officeholder’s ‘official status.’” In essence if this passes muster, Paxton will be allowed to tap a few rich folks for unlimited sums of cash to pay his attorneys based on the idea that none of these folks have an interest in getting anything in return because they are long time friends, buddies, pals and confidants of the state’s embattled top lawyer.
And Red has a bridge to sell you.

Today in Texas History – June 23

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From the Annals of Equality – In 1919, the Texas House passed the Nineteenth Amendment which provided women with the constitutional right to vote. The Texas Senate passed the amendment on June 28.   With the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in August of 1920, Texas women finally had the full right of voting.