Top Five Items From Last Week

Here is a list of my top five issues that popped up this week.  They are abbreviated, and beg your thoughts and discussion.

(Presented in no particular order)

1.   Romney's tax return and summary for his taxes.  The Romney's paid 14.1% in effective tax rate for 2011.  Why less than the 15% capital gains tax, of which most of his income is based on? Because of charitable donations to his church and foundation.  He actually donated less to charity to keep his tax rate higher so the tax the rich whiners would maybe be silenced a bit.  Ain't that great, he had to give LESS TO CHARITY, to appease democrats.  So goes the world.

What really struck me was that his 2011 tax return was 379 pages long. No wonder small business is having a hard time.  PS, you regulation is good folks, just imagine the cost, time, and effort required to fill out 379 pages of IRS forms.

2.  The national news media is again in the tank for the president.  No mention at all about how the administration failed in protecting the US Embassy in Libya.  It was a "planned" terrorist attack which we were warned about.  Yet the president and state department failed in providing protection for our ambassador and embassy employees.  And nothing in the media except the administrations claim that the attacks are because of a stupid 14 min U Tube video.

3.  Letter to the editor today on wanting to limit corporations from spending by corporations in elections.  Well I suggest those who might agree with the letter writer read the comments from the US Supreme Court Justices before getting all worked up to defend his comments.   First of, just remember that all the major media sources are, wait for it, CORPORATIONS..........Now do you start to see the issue.  If a corporation could not spend money on elections, the news media (and this is just one example used in the justice's comments) would not be able to report on election news.  No corporation would be allowed to publish information on elections.

But Tom....the news media would only have to quit editorializing and print only the facts.  This would be good, but totally unenforceable, just because of the simple journalistic practice of subjective story admission or deletion.  For example, posting only good stories about one candidate, and only bad stories about the other.  Simple and effective, and in practice today.  See number 2.

Anyway USCOTUS got it right on the Citizens United ruling, and thank goodness for it.

4.  Local politicians again stating that money from the state or federal government is not tax dollars and does not cost Laredoans a thing.  Please, quit lying to the public.  Every Laredoan pays for anything that comes from the state or federal government.  We may pay less state and federal taxes than a more successful area (note I did not say richer area, as they are more successful for a reason).

5.  City politics.  I still cannot understand why locals only support democrats and thier policies.  All I hear on the blogs is the constant discontent with the local governments.  This town is full of masochist.

First Responder Fees - They are in the works

It looks like the city of Laredo is investigating the potential to charge citizens for fire department responses to emergency situations.

In talking with a certain city staffer today, it appears the fire department is investigating the idea of charging "non-residents", and maybe even local residents, a fee for each LFD response to an vehicle accident or other emergency.

We already pay an extra fee for ambulance service that is provided by the fire department, and now we may be asked to pay for a fire department response to an auto accident.  Most of these fees are covered by a persons health, auto, or home owners insurance. The plan is to charge those with insurance for responses.

I was told that the idea that non-residents may be charged for accidents that occur in the Laredo city limits. I did not ask about a potential fee structure, as the LFD appears to be in the very early stages of studying this idea.  But the staffer stated over and over that the fee would be paid by insurance carriers and not the victim.  I of course disputed that by saying that insurance rates at some point would have to increase to cover the new cost.

There are many municipalities that collect fees for fire department, and some police, responses to accidents, and other "emergency calls."  These fee collections have been deemed legal if the state has statutory provisions that allow  them.  Apparently Texas has such a statute.  I have yet to read it.

So my friends, it is your turn to start the discussions.

Some of my worries:

a.  we already pay for this service, and if we charge our insurance rates could go up, even if we are not at fault.
b.  if only the person at fault is to be charged, who is going to determine who is at fault, and how many more court cases will flood the dockets?
c.  how will this affect international travelers from Mexico?
d.  at first accidents, then where does the fee charging lead to, suspicious persons calls, house and car fires, grass fires?
e.  will the "new revenue" be used to reduce taxes that we already pay for these services?

What say you?

That McAllen Cannot Make Convention Center Work- Does not bode well for Laredo

This is the headline from the McAllen Monitor on August 31, 2012:

Chamber proposes taking over McAllen's money-losing convention center

Read full story here

McAllen Convention Center

As you may or may not know, a few years back McAllen spent $62 million on a new convention center.  As you can see now, it is not producing.  These two paragraphs from the article say it all:

“When we’re giving it away free — meaning to any association that’s going to come down here and it doesn’t cost them anything to rent the facility, and we’re still being told ‘No’ — that tells me we’re in the wrong place,” said McAllen Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Steve Ahlenius, speaking Tuesday night to the City Commission about the convention market.

In the past 18 months, three groups have rejected the convention center despite being offered free meeting space, said Nancy Millar, vice president of the McAllen Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The reason I post this, is that your city council, which is in the process of implementing a huge number of fee increases, has had a new convention center on it's mind for the last few years.  

Why do you think they are trying to sell the Civic Center to LISD?  In order to generate the need for a new convention center.

Now if the McAllen region, which we all honestly must agree, has many more things to do than the Laredo region, cannot make a convention center work, then how does the City of Laredo, and city council think that Laredo will make a convention center work?

Beware of Kell Nunoz and gang who have tried to sell the convention center idea in the past.  

PS, watch out for city council when they try to convert the "1/4 cent Sports Venue Tax" to an economic development tax.  I support that idea, but not if they are going to use that as a vehicle for a new convention center.  So, if and when this idea comes up for a public vote, which is required by law, we must press the city council and get them to commit what the funds will and will not be used for.

Frac-A-Phobes: More bad news

Oil field services giant Schlumberger  has created a new process for hydraulic fracturing that reduces the cost of the process by reducing water usage up to 50% and reduces sand and other chemicals also.

Read Story Here

This cannot be good new for the hardcore environmentalist who wants to see the world revert back to caveman technologies.

Massive Fee Increases - Are they a good idea?

The cost to build a new business or home in Laredo is going
up with the proposed fee increases that will be implemented
by city council.

If you look at the Sept. 4th Laredo City Council Agenda,  (see agenda here) you will notice that there are a large number of fee increases, including some new fees that are being proposed.

The increases range from clean up at the library to doubling and tripling the cost of adding sewer connections to houses.

One to note was the new $50 fee each new business will have to pay to file with the city.  File for what?  Any new business must file with the state and federal governments and pay those taxes.  What is next in line I guess is a new business tax to come down the pike at some point.

These fee hikes, many of which may not even be noticed to the general public (except in utilities bills), could be detrimental to the city in the long run.  When new businesses run cost analysis to determine where to build, many of these fee hikes will come into play.

Here are just a few of the fee hikes that will be voted on tomorrow:
 building cost on housing
 cabs
 parking meter and lot rates
garbage pickup
swimming pool fees, including swimming lessons
health department clinic visits
birth certificate fees
death certificate fees
restaurant inspection fees
plumbing permit fees
library meeting fees
civic center rental fees
new garage sale permit fee
zoning change fees
 and many more too numerous to list.  Many of these fees are dramatic, especially in the building, planning, and utility divisions with fees going up thousands of dollars.  They will add greatly to the cost of building in Laredo.

What you see here is a morphing of a city government that has grown beyond it's means and is now charging for the very services we taxpayers originally intended to pay for with our tax base.  This shows that the city is not in as good of financial shape as some may have you believe.

Most of these fee increases will greatly affect the poor.  Yes, you heard it here, local Democrats are hurting the poor.

Yes Business Owner, YOU DID BUILD THAT.....

“There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own — nobody! You built a factory out there? Good for you. But I want to be clear: You moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for; you hired workers the rest of us paid to educate; you all were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for. ...

“You built a factory, and it turned into something terrific or a great idea? God bless. Keep a big hunk of it. But part of the underlying social contract is, you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along.” 

-- Elizabeth Warren

Just north of Mission, Texas.

This is the now famous quote that President Obama employed a month or so ago at one of his campaign rallies.  “We Did Build That” is now the theme of the 2012 Republican National Convention.

These 121 words could initiate the downfall of many Democratic house and senate seats this fall, as well as being used in the defeat of President Obama in the election.

Fact, the United States was not built by a government, but by the people.  There were no roads, teachers, firemen or policemen when the first Americans arrived.  But over generations, the people built those things, after they established businesses and trade.  Then, they built the government.

Anyway, let’s take a look at those words.

“The rest of us paid for”:  Literally translated that implies that “you,” the business owner, received something paid for by “us.”  And that implies that “you” paid nothing.

“Underlying social contract”:  The only social contract I know of in the United States is not underlying.  It is called the Constitution of the United States of America.  It is law, and is not to be ignored by any American.  There is no other “social contract.”  No one can force you to like someone, hire or fire a particular individual without cause.  No one can make you believe something you don’t want to.  No one can chose what business you wish to enter, or prevent you from entering a lawful one.  A “social contract” is something that the liberals wish could be made law, a law where they could control your thinking and beliefs, thereby controlling your lives even more. 

But the President, Elizabeth Warren, and many other mainstream media types have ignored the Constitution.  If they would have bothered to read the Constitution, they would understand that the powers for “any” (federal, state and local) government are granted by the people.  This means that there IS NO GOVERNMENT IF THE PEOPLE DON”T WANT ONE.  And since the people want a government, the people tax themselves (through a representative form of government) and the people built those roads, bridges, hired those teachers, firemen, and police officers.  And an American business owner is one of those people.  The United States government is powerless without the will of the people.   It is that simple. 

One thing the Constitution does not guarantee is that all Americans will be equal in desire, competitiveness, understanding, and the willingness to sacrifice for achievement.  These are things the government does not teach. These are lessons that are learned in life and that are passed down generation to generation.  The Constitution does not guarantee that any one person will be successful, nor be equal in income or life’s outcomes.

Now by reading the Warren/Obama quote as a playbook for a social contract they wish they could force upon us, I would conclude they wanted America to operate something like this:

The Government shall:

·         Have the power to chose what profession the citizens pursue.

·         Have the power to set a “living” wage with a cap on maximum income that can be earned by the citizen, in the name of equality.

·         Have the power to determine where the citizen may live.  To be determined by a mix of job type, ethnicity, and sex.  We must be balanced.

·         All citizens will be taught a uniform curriculum determined by the Government.

·         Decide when and where to build any government building or project.  Citizens will have no say.

·         Determine and enforce the citizens diet, to help keep health care cost down.

·         Determine the citizens medical treatments.

·         Pay Government employees more than non-government citizens.  This is needed so the best, brightest and indoctrinated citizen will work for the government.

·         Shall determine what type of vehicle and home the citizen shall use and occupy.

Now, I may have gone overboard on the government shall list, but I warn you, some people see that as a dream they are pursuing. 

Anyway, let’s keep America great.  You and your ancestors DID BUILD THAT.

Texas Voter ID and Redistricting Laws to US Supreme Court

Looks like both the Texas Redistricting Law, and the Texas Voter ID law are on the way to the US Supreme Court.

Cases very similar to these two laws were upheld by SCOUS in the past.  We shall see.

Trash Fee Increase - Statistically Sound, but Politically and Motivation Wise, Who Knows

This chart appeared in today's Laredo Morning Times. It shows that Laredo is paying less than the cities shown for trash pickup, even with the proposed increase.

Are they right in comparing cities like Austin and Brownsville with Laredo.

I really never like these kinds of analysis, because they fail to get to the heart of the matter, which is; "Can the community afford it?".

In this case, the answer is yes, if these trash collection fees are apples to apples numbers.  I do not have the "free" time to dig to that level.

But, I did do a very quick, unscientific, look at the following numbers.  I have listed each cities the percentage of people in the city at or below the poverty level, and the trash pick up bill.

Notice, that Laredo is third highest in the percent of people in poverty.  This simple chart shows that the cities with higher poverty rates have lower trash collection bills with the exception of Brownsville.  Not sure why they are out of whack.   Note, that I have divided the trash rate for bi-weekly pickups in half.

What is not shown here are the recent expenditures by the city to have trash collection done by robot armed trash trucks requiring less labor to operate.  This was supposed to reduce cost through less employees and a reduced risk and cost of injuries to workers.  Where, and how much was that savings?

One man trash truck

Overall, Laredo does not appear to be out of line with it's increase, at least from a simple statistical standpoint.  Politically, and as for motivational reasons, those are different issues, and I wonder if we would really need this increase if our police and fire departments did not consume over 65% of the city budget.

This is the kind of analysis that I would like see when we talk about any pay scale increases for any city employee.  Yet, no one seems to want to take the couple of hours to do it.  So sad that the local media fail in this respect.

Pin Headed Decisions and Whiners - Lance Armstrong's Debacle

7 Time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong

Lance's Title to be Stripped After He Quits Fight:
read full story here


I for one am tired of all of the bicycling groups trying to take racing titles away from Lance Armstrong, arguably the best cyclist in the world with seven Tour de France titles.

Lance has finally said he is tired of all of the defending he is having to do to keep his titles.

Lance has NEVER failed a drug test after taking hundreds of them.  Yet, some whiners who are either jealous, mad, or will do anything to tear down a good man, cannot accept that.  They wish to continually investigate Lance, and he has had it.

Good for you Lance.  You beat cancer, and you beat hundreds of riders in the many races you ran.  You need to prove nothing more to me or most Americans.  You are a true sports hero.

Note:  To the whiners in this country, whether you be going after Lance, or anyone who is successful (rich) in this county, SHUT UP, I AM SICK OF YOUR WHINING, JEALOUSY, AND CHILDISHNESS.  TAKE YOUR WHINE TO ANOTHER COUNTRY, I A SURE THEY WILL LISTEN.

The Troops are Getting Restless

Some ICE agents are suing the Department of Homeland Security for failing to allow them to do their jobs.  This will be interesting.  Not sure they can do that, but we shall see.

Read the whole story here.

Rape and Abortion

How can a community, like Laredo, that is well over 50% Catholic support President Obama and a national Democratic Party that supports abortion?  How is that possible?

"LIFE" of the unborn should outweigh the taxpayer entitlements promised by the President.  Without the gift of life, there is nothing.

All this uproar over a "democratically supported/funded" Senate candidate in Missouri who made a stupid comment about illegitimate rape, is overshadowing the fact that the Democratic Committee has inserted a plank in it's platform that calls for unlimited abortions at the taxpayers expense.

How can a Catholic support this?

Peace Activist Blame United States for Mexican Drug War

Here is the headline from the San Antonio Express News article today:

Activists blame America for toll of Mexico drug war

Read full story

While the activist are somewhat correct in their statements that the US consumption of drugs has lead to violence in Mexico, they try to shift too much of the blame to us.

For one, had the Mexican government long ago not gotten so close to the cartel bosses and groups, and they had actually enforced Mexican law, I doubt we would be having near the problems of drug violence we are seeing today.

As for the legalization of some narcotics, I agree we need to really discuss that and look at funding shifts from the "War on Drugs" to the prevention of use of drugs and treatment for those afflicted.

But that will never happen until Mexico and it's citizens look deep inside their government institutions and take action to fix what is broken.

Leave the Prince Alone

Of all the stupid and idiotic things for the world press to be concerned with.   Prince Harry partying in Las Vegas with some of his fellow soldiers who are leaving for the Afghan war zone soon.

He is a young man with the means to have a huge party.  So be it.  Are all you press morons jealous...of course you are...you are always whinning about the rich and famous.  Grow up.

Harry, enjoy your time in Vegas, and keep your head down in Afghanistan.

US Dept. of Justice's New Motto: To stupid to know better, to crazy to care.

Just when you think you have seen the federal government do everything along comes this memoout of the US Dept. of Justice. (Read the entire memo here.)

It appears that in a memo outlining the types of disabilities that are acceptable by the DOJ, these two pop out:

• severe intellectual disability
• psychiatric disability

As PJ Media reports, the plan is even worse than you might think:

Those with “targeted disabilities” may be hired through a “non-competitive” appointment. That means they don’t have to endure the regular civil service competition among applicants, but can be plucked from the stack of resumes and hired immediately instead.

According to the documents, those with these “targeted disabilities” may be hired “before the position is advertised” and even “before the position’s closing date.” Moreover, lawyers with psychiatric disabilities and “severe intellectual” disabilities receive a waiver from the requirement that a new DOJ employee have practiced law for one year before being hired.

Yes, it is true folks that the DOJ is looking for lawyers that are stupid and crazy...Now I see how "Fast and Furious" came to be.  And many other DOJ actions now start to make more sense.

Big Ado About Nothing

Explain to me how a city of 250,000 people care that a school principal got a ticket for a suspended drivers license?  What could possibly make that front page news, or even newsworthy enough to make the local television news?  What should probably be the headline is who convinced the paper and KGNS to put the story out?  A potential new principal wannabe in the making....

Headline in today's LMT:  "Police Arrest LISD Principal with Suspended Drivers License"  Read story here

The only really interesting thing in the story was the amount of unpaid tickets that were held by the driver.  The real story should be why are drivers in Laredo allowed to accumulate thousands of dollars of fines without paying them?  City hall should be held accountable.

Oh well, as we say here;  "That's Laredo."

Braincloud......maybe "That's Laredo" could become our motto...

Voter ID Vs. Ammunition Purchase: Which is more demanding?

From the Laredo Morning Times August 19, 2012

It appears as though Mr. Neseman of the Laredo Morning Times is as uninformed as most liberals are on the issue of guns and what it takes to purchase a gun or ammunition.

Mr. Neseman is asking whether it is harder to get an ID to vote in Texas, or harder to purchase ammunition online.  Mr. Neseman means this to be a rhetorical question versus a real question, because he obviously believes that it is harder to get a Texas ID than it is to purchase ammunition online.

Well Mr. Neseman, I have an answer, and it obviously does not fit the answer you are trying to elicit.

It is harder to buy ammunition online than it is to get a Texas ID as I show below:

To get a Texas ID from the state, the easiest of ID's.

a.  You must produce a birth certificate, or passport and prove you live in Texas.  Of course you have to drive to the license bureau and file.

To purchase ammunition, as well as anything else online.

a.  You must have a state issued ID.  In other words you have to at a minimum, do all of the things required to obtain a state ID.
b.  You must have a bank account or credit card, which the banks require a state ID to issue, and the credit card companies require a bank account.
c.  You must have a job or a source of income to get a bank account or credit card.
d.  You must have a ship to address that matches the credit card you used to purchase the ammunition.

All of these require more time an effort to obtain than a state ID card, and they require constant management, as a voter registration card does not.

So, another liberal deduction meets reality.  As usual, reality wins out.

Austin Bans Plastic Bags - Should Laredo?????

Downtown Laredo  merchants will not be happy,
nor will Mexican shoppers.

The Rio Grande International Study Center has posted that Austin has banned plastic bags.  So what.  Austin joins about 20 or so cities in the United States that have banned plastic bags like the ones you get at the grocery store, or any retail establishment.

I have included the article that was printed in the Austin Statesman.   Click Here

I want you to read the article, then read the comments made by the public.  They are 10 to 1 in opposition to the ban.  And they threaten to vote out the council who passed this ordinance.

Laredo city leaders, take note.

Where Were His Parents??????????

In today's Laredo Morning Times there is a front page story about a boy/young man whose parents decided to bring to the United States illegally.  Yes, it was a concious decision.  How do I know that?  Well they went through the trouble of obtaining an matricular consular card from Mexico which allows the holder to enter the US border zone for up to 36 hours.

Well the young man was stopped for a traffic violation and had no drivers license, but apparently showed his Mexican ID.  The Laredo PD officer notified US Border Patrol and they detained the young man.  He would face deportation, except he may be eligible for forgiveness due to President Obama waiving the deportation proceedings for kids brought here illegally.

My questions are:

Why aren't the parents deported for brining this poor kid here, getting him a Mexican ID card, and leading him to believe he would have no future issues?  Apparently, and I draw this maybe false conclusion that one of his parents, or he works at Wells Fargo Bank, as he stated at the end of the article that he was not sure if there was a Wells Fargo in Mexico.

If he or one of the parents do work at Wells Fargo, how did they get the job?  Did they get a green card?  Or did they use a fake work permit?  If they got a legal green card,why not apply for US citizenship for their son the proper and legal way?

These people are not your farm worker crossing the border looking for work.  They have some status to allow them to enter the US, get a job, and send their child to college.    Why didn't they do it legally?

The parents are at fault here, and it is they who should be deported.

I will save my rant on the attorney's complaining about Laredo PD calling Border Patrol for another day.

Coincidence, Or Am I That Smart?

I just saw this across the AP Wire.  I posted early this week about the need to ban knives...hummmm.   Be sure to read the last sentence.  China is pretty strict on guns for the civilians.

BEIJING (AP) -- A teenager killed eight people with a knife and wounded five more in northeast China after falling out with his girlfriend, state media said Thursday.

The teen killed two of her family members and six more people before fleeing, the state-run Legal Daily newspaper said. It reported he was caught but did not describe the circumstances.

The official Xinhua News Agency said the attack took place Wednesday night in Liaoning province. Media said the 17-year-old suspect is from Fushun city and his surname is Li. The attack happened in Yongling town.

Police in Xinbin county, which oversees the town, declined to comment.

Violent crimes are growing more common in China. There was a string of knife attacks against schoolchildren across the country in early 2010 that killed nearly 20 and wounded more than 50.


OK gun grabbers, fire away.........

LMT, Help Us Out- Pie Chart the City Budget

Chart the Budget

Laredo Morning Times, how about a little help for the people who pay for the city to operate, the taxpayers.

Show us a pie chart of the proposed city budget similar to the one I have put up to the left.  Show us what percentage of the city budget goes to which departments, so we can see where our money is going.

Note:  my chart to the left has each department allocated equal portions of the budget, which I know are not true, nor are they realistic expectations.  What will be interesting is just how much goes to police and fire (when all costs including retirement/insurance) are added in.  We, the taxpayers, need to know just how, to borrow a phrase from my environmental friends, "sustainable" our city budget is.

In fact, if the LMT really wants to show "sustainability", they would chart the last 10 years of city budgets and show just where the money is going.

However, my bets are on receiving a newspaper article reporting only what the city says and presents on its own, which will be of little value to the taxpayers.