Austin Chronicle tells a Bald-Faced Lie

From today's write-up on the Austin Housing Boondoggle:

It's these types of public exchanges that are making affordable housing advocates nervous. Last year, a $78.3 million bond election failed by just 7,000 votes – and that was without any organized opposition. This time around, with a $65 million bond proposition on the ballot, a group called Travis County Taxpayers Union has organized against the measure. And though it's a low-budget opposition campaign – basically a one-man-band run by Don Zimmerman, a libertarianish Republican who's made a few runs for public office – it carries all the bells and whistles (a "taxpayer rape whistle," to be precise) designed to get Zimmerman's political brethren riled up, no matter how offensive the tactics. In last year's bond election, the Taxpayers Union did not specifically target the housing bond; rather, it put all its marbles into defeating the proposed medical school, which won handily. So maybe the group's losing track record will bring housing advocates some luck at the polls this year.

[Emphasis Ours]

The Chronicle conveniently omits TCTU's victory against two Austin ISD bonds earlier this year; nor to they mention the TCTU lawsuit that has the other two bond propositions on ice at the 3rd Court of Appeals.

Or maybe the Austin Chronicle fails to read their own paper.

But hey, why accurately cite history from five months ago when there's a narrative to push?!?

Glenn Hegar picks up a HUGE Endorsement

In the race to replace the heroic Susan Combs, Glenn Hegar snags the most important endorsement available:

Texans for Fiscal Responsibility is pleased to endorse Glenn Hegar for Comptroller of Public Accounts.

Glenn Hegar will lead the fight for transparency, open government, and fiscal responsibility for Texas taxpayers. Texas needs someone who will diligently focus on reforming the problems of government debt and inefficiencies in spending. In his first term in the Texas Senate, Glenn pushed through legislation that allowed the Comptroller’s office to create a simple and searchable online database of state expenditures for Texans to know how and where their tax dollars are being spent. During the 83rd legislative session, Sen. Hegar served as chairman of the Subcommittee on Fiscal Matters (the committee charged with reviewing all state and local revenue matters) and demonstrated a commitment to looking comprehensively at the burden borne by Texas taxpayers.

Read the full endorsement here.

The is a very important development.  The comptroller position is a position that deals with money, and TFR is the most important fiscal conservative organization in Texas.  Based on conversations over the past few days, along with this endorsement, we believe that Hegar is the favorite to win this race.

Cahnman's Musings isn't a big fan of Glenn Hegar, but he might be the best of a bad lot in this race; personally, we wish Susan Combs would run again.

A More Complete Picture of Rosemary Lehmberg's Drinking

Interesting:

Does Rosemary Lehmberg have a drinking problem?

The embattled Travis County District Attorney says no. She contends her DWI was a one-time mistake.

Others say Lehmberg may be an alcoholic, and there is new evidence supporting claim. It comes in the form of receipt after receipt after receipt. Lawyers subpoenaed Twin Liquors for records of Lehmberg's purchases. It shows in a 15 month period, Lehmberg bought 72 bottles of Cirroc vodka.

….

When going through filings he found receipts from seven different Twin Liquors stores. They show Lehmberg's credit card was used to buy more than $3,000 in vodka. The 72 bottles purchased Total more than 23 gallons.

"If somebody is buying 23 gallons of vodka within 15 months' time, is caught with it, three times the legal limit all those things, being that coherent, all suggest that Ms. Lehmberg has probably had some sort of problem for a long time," O'Brien charged.

He also noticed something else. "She would always go to a different store every two weeks or so to buy her next stash of vodka."

Some Thoughts:

• 72 bottles of vodka in 15 months translates to 4 1/2 bottles per month; that's not necessarily a problem level, but it's close.

• This is only a record of her credit card purchases at Twin Liquors.  How much did she purchase at other locations?!?  How frequently did she pay with cash?!?

• That being said, the reason for Lehmberg's removal is her willingness to abuse the power of her office, not her personal party habits; unfortunately, this development indicates that there could be another incident in the future.

Does Rosemary Lehmberg have a drinking problem? The embattled Travis County District Attorney says no. She contends her DWI was a one-time mistake. Others say Lehmberg may be an alcoholic, and there is new evidence supporting claim. It comes in the form of receipt after receipt after receipt. Lawyers subpoenaed Twin Liquors for records of Lehmberg's purchases. It shows in a 15 month period, Lehmberg bought 72 bottles of Cirroc vodka.

Read More at: http://www.keyetv.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/receipts-show-lehmbergs-substantial-vodka-purchases-13845.shtml

One Texas Clinic Sidesteps Obamacare

One silver lining/unintended consequence of Obamacare is that, by making third-party payment even more cumbersome, stories like this might become more common:



Highlights:

• It's a cash-only clinic.

• Not accepting govt. or insurance payment dramatically reduces overhead.

• Transparent pricing.

• 19% of Texas physicians no longer accept insurance.

• Bundling procedures instead of billing line-by-line.

The New York Times Gets One Right

Once a year, the New York Times publishes something with which we wholeheartedly agree; Saturday's Nick Kristof column takes that honor for 2013:

NASHVILLE — WHEN men paid Shelia Faye Simpkins for sex, they presumably thought she was just a happy hooker engaging in a transaction among consenting adults.

It was actually more complicated than that, as it usually is. Simpkins says that her teenage mom, an alcoholic and drug addict, taught her at age 6 how to perform oral sex on men. “Like a lollipop,” she remembers her mom explaining.

....

There’s a common belief that pimps are business partners of prostitutes, but that’s a complete misunderstanding of the classic relationship. Typically, every dollar earned by the women goes to the pimp, who then doles out drugs, alcohol, clothing and food.

....

Of course, there are also women (and men) selling sex voluntarily. But the notion that the sex industry is a playground of freely consenting adults who find pleasure in their work is delusional self-flattery by johns.

Sex trafficking is one of the most severe human rights violations in America today. In some cases, it amounts to a modern form of slavery.

Read the whole thing, including Simpkin's testimony of being rescued, here.

Root Cause of Austin's Skyrocketing Cost of Living

A must read piece from (2014) Austin City Council Candidate Jay Wiley:

Government at Root of Austin's Unaffordability

Posted by Jay Wiley 15pc on October 16, 2013

No matter where you are on the political spectrum, most Austinites agree on one thing—Austin is expensive.

In fact, Austin has the highest median home prices in Texas at well over $200,000 per home.

When government meddles too much in the economy, the economy slows down.  This doesn’t only exist on a spreadsheet; it has real effects on real people.  People adjust their behavior when incentives change.  When government taxes a behavior, you get less of that behavior because people act in their economic self-interest.

When Austin City Council makes it harder and more costly to do business, owners hire less and the economy slows.  Not all at once, of course, but gradually over time.

Look closely and you can see storm clouds beginning to form around the Austin economy.

In August, Austin experienced a larger-than-usual decline in the labor force with the number of residents employed or looking for work dropping sharper than in any of the last nine years.

....

The Austin business community employs people, increases our quality of life, and provides goods and services we want and need every day.  When regulatory barriers are lowered, incentives to produce are boosted.  Businesses then grow and hire more people.

Let’s get City Hall out of the way and make it easier for business to flourish, and hire, in Austin.

 Amen; read the whole thing here.

GROSS: Bill Powers named UC-Berkely Alumnus of the Year

BARF:

One of the nation's foremost scholars in personal injury and product liability, Powers joined the faculty of the University of Texas School of Law in 1977. He later served as dean of the law school and in 2006 was appointed president of the university. He also serves as UT’s Regent's Chair in Higher Education Leadership.

As president, Powers has made great progress in transforming UT into one of the finest public research universities in the nation. Additionally, he has strengthened the undergraduate core curriculum, inaugurated the School of Undergraduate Studies, and aggressively recruited a diverse student body and faculty.

Read the whole thing here.

On a related note, why is a U.C. Berkeley alum running a University in Texas in the first place?!?