You are here: Home / Politics

Craig Watkins Even Gets on the Last Nerve of His Supporters

March 4, 2010 By Trey Garrison Leave a Comment

Dallas District Attorney Craig Watkins, let’s never forget, should be praised for his work in exonerating the wrongly convicted. No one can take that away from him.

But that’s not a “Get Out of Jail Free” card on all the apparently dirty stuff he’s up to — cover ups, misappropriation of campaign funds, vendettas against the Dallas County Republican chair, and so on.

Worst of all, he’s engaging in one of the great crimes on teh Internets: sock puppetry.

Use your eyes to read my Internet crush Bethany Anderson’s take on the whole thing plus some election commentary here.

Filed Under Bethany Anderson, Fort Awesome, Novelty Cake Toppers, Politics

The Fix Is In: Toyota To Get Kangaroo Court

February 23, 2010 By Trey Garrison 6 Comments

So whatever legitimate problems that Toyota models have, they’re about to get the union thug treatment, courtesy the majority owner of General Motors, also known as the Federal Government.

The U.S. House has issued its conclusions in advance of hearings – saying here’s the verdict, now let’s have the trial.

WASHINGTON — Leading Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee said Monday that Toyota relied on a flawed study in dismissing the notion that computer issues could be at fault for sticking accelerator pedals, and then made misleading statements about the repairs.

The comments, from Henry A. Waxman, chairman of the committee, and Bart Stupak, a subcommittee chairman, were made in an 11-page letter to James E. Lentz III, the president of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. The letter was released Monday on the eve of the committee’s hearing on the Toyota recalls, one of three scheduled.

Kowtowing to union lobbyists, their own vested interest in GM outperforming Toyota, and the fact that Toyota has spent only $24.9 million lobbying versus GM’s $50 million over the last five years — it’s not hard to see why key members of the House committee would embark on a smear campaign. And I’m sorry, but that’s the only way to describe what you’re going to get when you issue your conclusions before you have hearings.

Here’s the best part — even if Toyota presents evidence that vindicates itself, and that shows they were targeted for a public tarring despite the fact that other manufacturers have as many as 10 times as many safety complaints — they won’t be able to do jack or squat about it.

The damage to their reputation among buyers will be done.

Why no recourse? Sovereign immunity.

Seriously — I know American history inside and out, and we’re approaching a level of federal corruption and crony capitalism that eclipses anything short of Tammany Hall. No, this is worse. Boss Tweed was a piker compared to this lot.

When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators. -P.J. O’Rourke

Filed Under FAIL, Mickey Maoist, National Socialization of Industry, Novelty Cake Toppers, Politics

The Party of No Has Too Many Saying Yes, Please

February 22, 2010 By Trey Garrison 7 Comments

zodiac-pig-picIf Dallas people want a streetcar, we should pay for it. We shouldn’t stick our nose in the troth trough and ask the rest of America to support our pet projects. Thanks, Pete. You have a little slop on your collar, there.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, led by Texas Representative Pete Sessions, released a video montage of clips edited to show a series of news anchors and commentators asking “Where are the jobs?”

Sessions, who called the stimulus “a massive spending binge by the Democrat-controlled Congress,” wrote LaHood three times last September and October. Sessions promoted four projects, including a Dallas streetcar line he said “will create jobs in the region and improve the quality of life for North Texans.” The project got $23 million.

Sessions, in an e-mail, called the stimulus an “abject failure” and said he’d vote against it again if he could.

The lawmaker said his objections don’t keep him “from asking federal agencies for their full consideration of critical infrastructure and competitive grant projects for North Texas when asked to do so by my constituents.” Sessions has written agencies supporting six other grants, spokeswoman Emily Davis said.

Filed Under FAIL, Mickey Maoist, Politics

Health Care and Brown, Take 2

January 20, 2010 By Trey Garrison 8 Comments

An old chum and lawyer has a different take on what’s what for government-run health care now.

So now for something completely different…

Filed Under Free Speech, Politics, Vainglorious Plugging

Why Principle Is More Important Than Pragmatism

December 8, 2009 By Trey Garrison 2 Comments

On deadline again and dealing with family stuff, but meanwhile, this may be one of the more brilliant pieces I’ve read lately.

Sample:

At the heart of the Left’s indulgence of political corruption lies the mistaken conviction that “public service” transforms politicians into exemplars of civic virtue, or that political office attracts a large percentage of such civic-minded individuals. In reality, the political class is even more greedy and selfish than wealthy businessmen… because they spend much of their time in the company of such wealthy men, and believe themselves entitled to riches and luxuries. Max Baucus doubtless attends a lot of campaign events sponsored by rich supporters who can afford to fly their girlfriends to Europe for a romantic getaway, and he believes himself morally and intellectually superior to these men – the remorseless logic of statism demands it. It only makes sense to place politicians in control of industry if they’re better than the industrialists they control, after all.

Doctor Zero doesn’t spare the right-wing trough-feeders, either. Full piece here.

Filed Under Capitalist Superheroes, Politics, Writer on Deadline

You’re Out of Your Element, Donnie

November 9, 2009 By Trey Garrison 19 Comments

The fall of the Berlin Wall?

It’s all about Barack.

Best comment:

It is telling that Obama manages it involve himself in all sorts of issues unbecoming a President like having a beer with the cop and victim of a local law enforcement screw-up, giving speeches to captive-audience school children, and begging for the Olympics for his home town (not that his cronies would have profited from that, of course!). Then when there is an event of truly global and historic significance deserving of the stature and symbolism of an appearance by the President of the United States, he can’t be bothered to do more than essentially phone it in?

Obama, his own actions reveal, is just a lousy, thick-headed clod. No wonder he keeps his college transcripts sealed.

Filed Under Creepy Guys in the Park, Politics

Separated at Birth?

September 23, 2009 By Trey Garrison 3 Comments

With several anti-American leaders, plus Qaddafi, making speeches to the UN today (see what I did there?) I was reminded of that other kook who used to live in the government housing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Which brought me to this.

Picture 1Philosoraptor_rape

Filed Under Creepy Guys in the Park, Politics

Yeah, But He Did Lie, So…

September 10, 2009 By Trey Garrison 38 Comments

From Matt Welch:

It is telling that so many people who claim to be speaking on the side of Truth, Justice, and the American Way of Journalism have consistently focused their outrage-o-meters at individual townhall attendees, political broadcast entertainers, and the lesser lights of a lame (if resurgent-by-default) opposition party, while letting walk nearly fact-check-free the non-irrelevant occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. If calling out lies and misrepresentations about a significant policy proposal is such pressing journalistic business—and it should be!—you’d think the watchdogs might start with the guy doing the proposing.

Full piece here.

Filed Under FAIL, Politics

Counterpoint: Shawn Williams Makes the Case For

September 4, 2009 By Trey Garrison 12 Comments

My friend and news entrepreneur Shawn Williams of Dallas South Blog makes his case in support of the Obama speech to schools.

Read it here.

Filed Under Politics, Vainglorious Plugging

Portraits in Leadership: Carolyn Davis

August 27, 2009 By Trey Garrison 13 Comments

cdavis1I’m not sure exactly what to say. The Dallas council adopted a rule that members have to attend at least half a meeting to get paid for that meeting, and one member more than any other has a problem with that?

A frustrated Davis, who voted against the measure along with council members Vonciel Jones Hill, Steve Salzar and Ann Margolin, said there could be many reasons why she couldn’t attend a full meeting.

“I have to take my daughter to school,” she said.

What kind of job did Carolyn Davis have before where she expected to get paid for not showing up? Some sort of union job or community organizer gig? And look, I covered council for a year. Meetings typically run eight hours. Where does her daughter go to school, Shreveport?

For those not following at home, Davis is the member who expensed the city for her vacation to Belize (trade mission or some damn thing), uses campaign funds to pay for her car maintenance, and doesn’t even know what committees she sits on.

It all leads to the obvious question: How on earth could Dallas be facing financial difficulties with visionary leadership such as this?

Filed Under Politics, The DFW
« Older Posts