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Letters to the Editor in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram regarding Fort Worth Congresswoman Kay Granger's refusal to conduct town hall meetings...

Kay Granger and town halls

I am the “man at the wedding” referred to in your Sunday (July 16) article in which Congresswoman Kay Granger stated she refuses to conduct town hall meetings.

At no time during our brief conversation did I scream at Ms. Granger. I did, as the article correctly states, ask her when she would conduct a town hall meeting.

Two things are clear: Granger represents only the constituents who voted for her. Second, she is using a recent wedding encounter in an attempt to excuse years of neglecting her constituents’ concerns and opinions.

LARRY HALE, FORT WORTH

I was at that wedding. The man Granger refers to is a friend of mine. In fact, we were sitting at the same table. He did indeed ask her why she didn’t have a town hall. He asked bluntly but civilly. She said it was too dangerous and reprimanded him for challenging her. Her overreaction was so extreme I was embarrassed for her.

I do not know the source of Kay’s fear of her own constituents. Perhaps it’s because she has voted for every gun bill that’s come down the pike, given she pays more attention to the demands of the NRA than to the people she represents. So now she’s afraid everyone will be packing a gun?

Kay, you were once a woman of valor. What has happened to you? You chose to be a public servant. If you are too afraid of your own constituents, either grow a spine or get a new job.

KATIE SHERROD, FORT WORTH

I understand why Kay Granger might choose to take the position that it is in the best interests of the health of Granger herself and of her constituents that she not hold town meetings to hear the opinions of her constituents on such matters as health care. But does she understand that her support of the Republican “health care” bill is dangerous to the health of those constituents with whom she is refusing to meet?

JACK ELLIS, BURLESON

What would YOU pay to see Kay?

Lackluster Granger Greene Debate Forum with an Added Libertarian

While we appreciate the League of Women Voter's hosting a forum for this district WHO rarely sees their "leader", we have to admit, it could use some improvement.

Again, we were surprised they got Granger to show up.  We were also impressed that they included the Libertarian candidate as too many others do not.  If they are a candidate in the race, WHAT gives the "news" the right to leave one out?

The location, which we are sure was free, was small, with terrible parking and not in the most accessible location.

It almost seemed as if they didn't want people to attend.

The moderator wasn't as professional as one would hope for a race of this magnitude and some of the questions were, well, strange.  We were told we couldn't applaud and we couldn't ask questions, and if the question you turned in was directed to just one candidate, those wouldn't be considered.  Only questions that affected us all.  Then they asked the candidates about farm subsidies.  Yes, really.  While it affects us all, as in the fact we pay for it, it probably affects one percent of the folks gathered in that room.

What they didn't ask, which had everyone in the room asking, WHY, was ANYTHING about the Trinity River Vision.  The billion dollar, taxpayer funded, eminent domain scheme in the middle of the district doesn't even deserve a mention?  Things like this are WHY people are fed up with our current "leaders" and those who coddle them.

For the most part the forum was the same as any other forum, except for the repeated burst of applause for Mark Greene's responses.  At least half a dozen times, part of the room burst in to cheers when Greene answered questions or gave his opening statement.  Granger did not receive any.  She did use the word "I" more than any other candidate in attendance.  Some things never change.

You're Invited to a Greene - Granger Debate

Voters Beware! Outside interest in the TRWD water board election!

"Voters beware" is what a campaign mailer from the water board incumbents read.  Mayor Price was concerned that outside interests were trying to take over your water supply! 

First of all, WHAT water supply?

Second of all, has Mayor Price seen the incumbents campaign donations?   The incumbents are getting money from Dallas (GASP!) and Austin and cities all over Texas.  Are these the outside interests you were warned about?  Or is it the donors to the incumbents from out of state you should be concerned with?  We hear there are donations from Colorado, Arizona and that state next door we are suing in Federal court to take their water, Oklahoma. 

If they haven't noticed, there is no money in Fort Worth.  That well ran dry.  THEY spent it all.  Maybe some of those campaigns donating should hang on to their money.  They may need it.

Vote BNK.  Today.

Oink, oink

The letter to the Editor in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram today reminded us of the “This little piggy” rhyme…

Of course ours cried, “Me, me, me!” all the way home…

Thanks for saying what everyone is thinking, well done, sir.

On the one hand, Kay Granger voted against the recent "fiscal cliff" deal because she opposes increased government spending. On the other hand, her stated goals for the upcoming session are to ensure increased funding for government programs at Lockheed Martin and for the glorified pond north of downtown known as the Trinity River Vision.

Here is my "vision" of Washington: hypocritical representatives like Granger talking about reducing federal spending while extending their arms for more handouts. Which is it, Ms. Granger, pork for your district or fiscal conservatism? You can't have it both ways.

-- William W. Thorburn, Benbrook

Still voting for a RINO?

WHY?

Check out Dave Robinson. .

Constable Candidate

If you don't know WHO Glen Bucy is, you should.  He's a Fort Worth resident that has been involved in local politics for the past several years.  He's a TCU Political Science graduate, he survived the Wedgewood Church shooting in Fort Worth, and a combat tour in Afghanistan, he is also an Arlington Police Officer.  He's running for constable in precinct 6 and we have a question for those of you "in the know" out there...

WTH could Bud Kennedy have against an all American guy like Glen Bucy?? 

Seems at a recent forum, one of Glen's opponent's stood and made the claim that he was endorsed by Congresswoman, Kay Granger.  Bucy went on to explain why he did not want such an endorsement.  Once again, on Facebook, Bud Kennedy weighed in on Bucy -  about the congresswoman being "criticized--by a constable candidate?"

WHO else is supposed to call them out?  The "news"??

Since when can constituents not comment on their elected officials and their spending?  If we left that to the "news" paper, no one ever would. 

Here's what Glen had to say earlier in the week about the endorsements. 

And pork is pork, no matter how they serve it in Fort Worth. 

While at the Southwest Republican Club, one of my opponents stated that he was the only... candidate in the room that was unequivocally endorsed by Congresswoman Kay Granger,(the most powerful endorsement you could possibly have in Tarrant county according to my opponent.) to which I responded in my final two minute closing statement "The only reason I do not have Kay Grangers endorsement, is because I did not seek it out. I have spoken publicly in the past about several issues that I had with Congresswoman Granger, most importantly, that she is a Pro-Choice Republican, and I am a Pro-Life."

While I agree that Kay Granger has done some good things for Fort Worth, I cannot condone her pro-choice stance on abortion. On matters of fiscal responsibility, Granger fails the test again being one of the largest pork barrel spenders in congress. With projects like the Trinity River Vision and its $909 million dollar price tag, Kay doesn't do our party any favors when we talk about cutting back in Washington spending. As Republicans, we need to be taking the lead in matters of fiscal responsibility/accountability and that is exactly what I plan to do in Constable's office.

Downtown District

A Letter to the Editor in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram makes an excellent point.  Downtown Fort Worth isn't a congressional district.  It's part of one.  Don't show up in the rest of the district asking for our money to dump into our river.  Pay attention. 

Seeking attention

The Sunday article about Rep. Kay Granger gave much information about her international activities. I wish she would do as much in her own district, which is not just Fort Worth. The Tarrant County portion of her district, before redistricting, has 14 percent of the area and 79 percent of the population.

If you go by her own claim for appropriations in 2010, 61 percent was spent in Fort Worth and 4 percent in Parker County, with the rest being national or regional. Most of the Parker County spending went to a company that does business outside the county. Wise County got nothing. I got appropriations information from her website but can no longer find that link.

Granger does come to Parker County to raise money. With 86 percent of the area and 21 percent of the population, Parker and Wise counties would like to have more than 4 percent of the attention.

-- Darrel Behrens, Aledo

It's all fun and games

Till someone gets hurt, or goes broke.

Read about the Party in Fort Worth, sponsored by Chesapeake, on Durango.  Tickets were $200.00 for individuals and up to $25,000 for a table.  WHO paid for YOUR elected leaders to attend?

There were several in attendance, from Mayor Price to Queen Earmark. 

How much did that cost YOU?

All that glitters

Letter in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 

Fool's gold

Letter writers and columnists are lambasting the new Museum of Science and History and nostalgically longing for yesterday's old museum. What if after a billion earmark dollars are spent on new-fangled Trinity Vision with its boondoggle of canals, condos and bridges to nowhere, Fort Worthers, suffering buyer's remorse, wake up, tax bills in hand, and long once more for the old nature-carved Trinity and its vanished West Fork-Clear Fork landmark confluence admired by Ripley Arnold, Robert E. Lee and Amon Carter -- the confluence where the deer and the antelope played and Indians pitched their tepees, a picture that no museum artist ere could paint.

An 1898 painting by Frederic Remington portrays Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado on his ill-fated quest in 1541 to find the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola. The expedition, which included hundreds of soldiers and Native American guides, lasted two years and traversed some 4000 miles of the American West. In the end, no cities of gold were found and Coronado returned empty-handed and in debt.

Coronado's Seven Cities of Cibola. Kay Granger's Trinity Vision. All that glitters is not gold.

-- Don Woodard Sr., Fort Worth

There IS a reporter in the country

They happen to be at the Washington Post.

Check out what list YOUR Congresswoman made now.

Next time you complain about government spending in Washington, check your own city.

And is 'government spending' an oxymoron?  WHO's money do you think they are spending?

Don't be a moron.  Oxy or otherwise...

Wanna Wakeboard?

The Cowtown Wakeboard park, part of the Trinity River Vision "flood" control project in Fort Worth, failed to save anyone from flooding today.  Apparently, it couldn't even save itself.

The Trinity River took back the wakeboard park.  And left a sign of just how clean the river is.  Remember that when they invite you to Tube the Trinity during the Rockin' the River events brought to you by the Trinity River Vision Authority and the Tarrant Regional Water District.

With all the flooding footage today, WHY did you not see any of the wakeboard park?  Ask.

While you're at it, ask what it cost YOU and what it's going to cost YOU to repair it.  After all, it's YOUR money.

WHO controls YOUR water?

It's a tricky question.  For a reason.  There are many water districts in Texas.  Nine times out of ten, they are above the law, as in they don't have to follow any.

There's been a lot of talk about the Tarrant Regional Water District lately, but it hasn't been due to water.  It's all been about the J.D. Granger and Tim Love Woodshed restaurant sweetheart deal on the Trinity River. A million dollar (give or take a few, again, it's just YOUR money) deal.  Don't you wish YOU could go into business for with no start up cost and if it bombs, you lose nothing?  YOU bet you do, cause you've already lost another million.  And counting.  It's a small price to pay for the billion dollar boondoggle known as the Trinity River Vision. 

The TRWD and the Trinity River Vision Authority, under the leadership of JD Granger, Congresswoman Kay Granger's son, heavily promoted Tubing on Trinity or Rocking on the River this summer to the citizens and taxpayers of Tarrant County.  WHY didn't they test the water?  WHY did the citizens have to pay to have it tested?

The project was touted as flood control, so it would receive federal money.  YOU hear that rest of the country?  YOU'RE paying for this too, so there.  We have to ask again, what does a BBQ shack on the river, a wakeboard park and bridges over dry land do for flood control?  YOU should ask.  After all YOU paid for it.

The TRWD should be reaching out to real water planners of the world and getting their act together before Fort Worth runs out of water.  Instead their reaching out and suing our neighbor, Oklahoma for their water.  The same state those gas drillers using all our water hail from. The same fellas that made our water district rich. Hey, here's a thought, why don't you make them bring their own water and take their waste back with them?  Ever wondered why many drill sites are close to the river and the tributaries? Remember, it flows both ways. Water, too.

If all that weren't enough, then there's fracing.  Even if you don't believe it could ever possibly happen, let's just say, what IF just ONE time it does? Remember the coast? What IF the Trinity aquifer is contaminated?  How do YOU fix it?  What happens then?  WHO is responsible?

If all that isn't enough, we came across the article below.  Which brings us back to the original question, WHO controls YOUR water?

I am in Parker County at a hearing where Range Resources has filed a plea to jurisdiction in the water contamination case where EPA had to step in. If the judge grants this motion, it means the Texas Railroad Commission is the final authority in fracking water contamination cases. It means you can’t sue for damages if the Big Gas Mafia fracks up your water. It would be a disaster for all Texas water drinkers. 

Read the rest here. 

WHO's your daddy?

As previously mentioned, we keep it in the family in Fort Worth.  Literally.

Read about the court connections on PoliTex.  And keep in mind, that ain't nothin.

This is Texas, we do it up big.

They’re the latest in a long line of notable offspring to be hired by the Tarrant County district attorney’s office.

Others who have branched out on the district attorney’s family tree include:

--J.D. Granger, son of U.S. Rep. (and former Fort Worth mayor) Kay Granger. J.D. Granger is now executive director of the Trinity River Vision Authority.

Death or taxes?

Jeers in the Fort Worth Star Telegram:

To U.S. Reps. Joe Barton and Kay Granger, who are fighting the EPA on regulations that would curb mercury and other toxic pollutants being emitted from power plants and cement kilns. They profess that any increased regulation would kill jobs, apparently not caring that those same toxins can kill people.

-- Sharon Austry, Fort Worth

Jeers to you know WHO

A jeer in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram caught our eye this weekend. We hear there's more to this jeer...stay tuned.

Jeers: To the people who encourage us to tube, swim, wakeboard and otherwise recreate in a river that is known to have contaminated fish and fecal matter in it, as shown on WFAA last month. Is the Trinity clean now? If so, who cleaned it?

-- Debbie L. Sheffield, North Richland Hills

Meanwhile, back on the ranch

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram sticks with the usual spin. 

Don't worry, your local "news" knows "what's good for you". Remember, THEY also tell you WHO to vote for.  How's all that working out for ya?

And how has this worked out in the past?

WHY would a local politician and backers "scratch and claw" for this project?

That "local government money" they talk about, where do YOU think they get that?

The federal government may be in a world of hurt, but not the Trinity River Vision.

That was the message last week, when Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, called a news conference to announce that $15 million in federal money had been secured for the river project.

Given that the TRV is estimated to cost $910 million and take at least 10 more years to complete, it hardly seems newsworthy that officials locked up 1.6 percent of the budget. Except that these days, every federal dollar is precious, and Granger's TRV coalition served notice that it'll scratch and claw to keep the Fort Worth project on track.

Maybe its best argument is that local government is paying more of the early costs rather than relying exclusively on Uncle Sam. Through August, local sources had contributed $83 million toward the project, while the federal allocation was almost $44 million, not including the latest $15 million pledge.

Despite some Republicans calling for an end to earmarks, Granger believes that this cost sharing will keep the TRV on course.

"The projects that can't come up with their local funds are the ones that are really going to slow down," Granger said. "That's one reason ours goes to the top of the list."

Fortunately, this ambitious idea took root in 2001. Back then, most people still believed that government could do great things, such as moving a river and reviving a distressed area about the size of the central business district.

But such progress gets overshadowed by the infighting in Washington, where earmarks -- money OK'd by Congress for specific projects advocated by members -- have been attacked as wasteful spending. That broad brush discredits every infrastructure project in the country, including the good ones. And the TRV is counting on the feds to cover more than half its budget, or nearly $488 million, so Granger has to keep the money flowing.

The Army Corps of Engineers, penciled in to provide the big bucks, isn't expected to start digging the $94 million bypass channel for three years, so a lot could change by then. Officials are already adjusting schedules in the event that Congress reverses course and plows new money into infrastructure jobs; if that happens, several pieces of the TRV will be shovel-ready and eager to compete for funding.

But at the moment and probably until the TRV is finished, there will be fears that federal support will dry up. Granger said she's always asked whether local, state and national leaders are still behind it.

"Our actions speak as loud as our words," Granger said Thursday, proud that local officials had found a way to land more money.

Originally, the Transportation Department was supposed to provide the last piece of funding for two bridges on Henderson and North Main streets. But the transportation bill is bogged down over a House proposal to cut spending by 30 percent, so Granger went to the Regional Transportation Council of the North Central Texas Council of Governments.

That local agency had enough federal money to close the gap. Bridge construction starts next year, and Granger was quick to say that 800 jobs will be created.

If the federal money stopped completely, the TRV would be in serious trouble. The local players -- the Tarrant Regional Water District, Tarrant County and Fort Worth -- have already pledged a combined $102 million.

In a more austere time, when the corps can't do as much, one priority should be to finish projects that are under way. The TRV has already bought property, moved businesses, demolished old buildings and completed some environmental cleanup. Building bridges adds to the list.

Under the worst-case scenario, local governments could increase their contribution, Granger said. And some cities have sold bonds to complete vital projects. She wouldn't suggest how the local share might change, saying any shift wouldn't be necessary until 2014 or beyond.

"It'll be a year-to-year thing" with federal funding, said Vic Henderson, president of the water district. "We may have to slow it down some time, but we'll finish this project."

Officials also discovered that the bypass channel could be about 8 feet shallower than initially projected, which will cut extraction costs by $10 million to $15 million.

Sometimes, the savings benefit the Army Corps' side of the ledger; other times, they lower the costs for local players. Either way, the TRV wins and in the process shows how a ground-breaking project should work.

That's not only good for taxpayers and government. It may be the only way to keep the federal money coming.

Perry Polls

The media is saying Rick Perry dropped 10 points in the polls.

Maybe some folks picked up the Fort Worth Weekly Best of 2011 edition.  While the critics chose another of our local/Washington politicians (Kay Granger) for The Politician most likely to sell grandma to the highest bidder, the readers of Fort Worth chose Rick Perry. 

If the citizens of one of the largest cities in your state think you'll sell them out, WHY would the rest of the country want you for President?

Best of Fort Worth

The Fort Worth Weekly has released their Best of Edition for 2011.  Pick one up, check it out.

In addition to finding all the best spots in town, you can read about groups and people we've told you about - NCTCA, Clyde Picht, Ann Sutherland and Layla Caraway, just to name a few.

WHO was the politician most likely to sell grandma to the highest bidder?  YOU know WHO.

Oh, and Readers Choice for Locally Made Film - Up a Creek.  Congratulations to Bob Lukeman and TRIP and to all those out there making a difference.   Like the Weekly.

Lone Star salutes you all.