Texas Toll Roads, Freeway or free for all?

HOW many in Texas?  WHY?  ASK.

TAXPAYER DISASTER:

STOP tolls on FREEways! 
It's been 7 years since Congress passed the last federal highway bill. Now its racing through Congress at the speed of light -- why? Because they want to sell-off our public roads to private corporations, raise your taxes through tolls, and lift the ban on imposing tolls on existing highways. There are 500 toll projects being contemplated in Texas alone!

An amendment to allow tolls on ALL existing interstates in all 50 states is expected to be presented on the floor by Senator Carper of Delaware. Imposing tolls on existing freeways is a massive DOUBLE TAX -- charging motorists an additional tax, a toll, to use what they've already built and paid for!

The current House Bill, HR 7, only bans tolls on existing FEDERAL interstates. It GUTS the ban on imposing tolls on existing STATE highways -- like US 281 and Loop 1604 -- a ban that Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison put in place for Texas since 2007.  The fate our public freeway system is under attack!

ACTION ITEM
Call Senator John Cornyn and ask him to support the Hutchison  ban on tolling existing STATE and FEDERAL freeways and to STRIP PPPs & TIFIA loans OUT of the transportation bill .

Call Cornyn's office at 210-224-7485 & email him here.

Call your member of Congress and ask him/her to ADD the Hutchison "Freedom from Tolls" Amendment to ban tolling existing freeways - BOTH state and federal - to HR 7 and STRIP PPPs & TIFIA loans OUT of the transportation bill.

Find out who your member of Congress is or call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

Learn more here.  Don't be sheep.

WHO is looking out for YOU?

Do YOU believe her?

Kay Bailey Hutchison says she won't run again.  Didn't she say something similar during the Governor's race? 

Read about it in the Houston Chronicle.

We need a whole new crop of candidates. REAL candidates.

Texas Senators all about giving...

A letter to the Editor in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram makes some interesting points about our Texas Senators.  Let us not forget when Kay Granger said she'd not ask for earmarks, our senators hands shot up in her place for the Trinity River Vision.  WHAT do you think is more important?

Shameful vote

On Sept. 11, 2003, on the floor of the Senate, Sen. John Cornyn said, "I know that many of my friends and colleagues who were here on that horrific day feel a very deep and personal debt to the heroes of Sept. 11."

And yet he voted against the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which calls for providing $3.2 billion over the next eight years to monitor and treat injuries stemming from exposure to toxic dust and debris at ground zero. In other words, he voted against helping the heroes of Sept. 11.

On Sept. 11, 2002, also on the floor of the Senate, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison said, "We marveled at heroism and bravery of the first responders."

And yet she too voted against helping the heroes of Sept. 11.

This is incredibly shameful. But they don't care; they would rather give tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans than help the heroes of 9-11.

-- Richard LaChance, Fort Worth

A Streetcar Named Conspire

We were just forwarded this email written by Adrian Murray.  Write on, sir.

The exalted leaders of Fort Worth seemed determined to develop a streetcar line whether the city needs one or not. In fact, they are so determined to get a streetcar they're going to commit to one before they even decide where it should start, where it should end and what, exactly, they will even do with the darn thing. We just got to have it.

Was this on the horizon three or four years ago? Was anyone chomping at the bit to get an electric streetcar? Were Fort Worth citizens saying amomg themeselves over lunch, "What this city really needs is a streetcar?" Did we somehow miss the pickets outside City Hall from angry taxpayers wondering where their streetcar is? Why the sudden panting and moaning for a street car now?

Money. Lot's of it. $25 million in federal grant money, to be precise. With another $25 million in funding confiscated from the citizens of Fort Worth, that's $50 million for the old boy network downtown to divide amongst themselves. $50 million for site preparation, surveys, engineering costs, legal fees, construction. A $50 million jackpot for the legions of corrupt elites sucking the life out of the citizens of this city and a $50 million kick in the groin for those citizens struggling to get by in a city rank in corruption and greed.

Just the other day J.D. Granger, spawn of Kay and General Manager of that ill-conceived, poorly planned quasi-criminal construction project known as the Trinity River Vision, came out publicly stating that streetcars have been an essential part of the TRV plan from the very beginning. Conveniently for Granger, Star Telegram uber-stenographer Bill Hanna merely joted down J.D.'s claim without even a perfunctory follow-up like, maybe, "Hey , J.D., can you cite just one time JUST ONE TIME YOU LIVING BREATHING MOMUNMENT TO NEPOTISM that the subject of freaking STREETCARS ever came up?"

Of course, J.D. now has a bit of a sticky problem. Mama's been funding junior's pet project with earmark money stolen from the American people. But mama had to swear off earmarks when the Republican House leadership committed to ending the process. So Kay Bailey Hutchison had her back and swooped to the rescue by committing to earmarking money for the Trinity boondoggle in the Senate. Now that source is about to dry up as Mitch McConnell vows to end the practice entirely.

Gee, if only the TRV had a streetcar, we could maybe partake ourselves of that glorious $50 million in free money and steer it towards the toxic island being created north of downtown. Streetcars are important, we are told, because they increase density in development. Since people can take the streetcar wherever they want we won't need as many parking places, garages, etc., so that open up land for profitable development. Without streetcars, building can only be three stories tall. With streetcars, they can be over seven stories. All we need is a gullible reporter intellectually vacant enough to write this up in a story without questioning the obvious vacuousness of such a statement and we're off to the races. Someone get me Bill Hanna on the line!

And so on Thursday, just outside the downtown offices of the Trinity River Vision, folks will be invited to see our magnificent new streetcar. Never mind the $77 million budget shortfall. Never mind crumbling infrastructure. Never mind the closing of libraries and parks and pools. Never mind staff and pay cuts. There's $50 million in free money for the folks in River Oaks to divvy among themselves. J.D. has a brand new toy and a new lease on life. Can life get any better than this?

To keep up with all the streetcar mania going on across the country, just google "federal streetcar grants".

Of course they do...

Title of an article in the Dallas Morning News  - "Texans in Congress say drilling support not tied to oil industry donations."  Put your boots on, then read the article.  Be sure and check out the chart of how many millions YOUR representative has received from the industry.  If someone gave you $2 million WHO would you vote for?

Texans in Congress – many of whom have received hefty campaign contributions from the oil industry – are standing firm in their support for offshore drilling as oil gushes into the Gulf of Mexico.

Federal campaign records show that nearly a third of the Texans in Congress get more donations from oil and gas companies than from any other industry.

"Companies do not give contributions out of an altruistic feeling of supporting the democratic process," said Tyson Slocum, energy program director of the consumer protection group Public Citizen. "They expect a return on their investment. Their return is access. Their return is favorable treatment."

Ocean Front Property

The Trinity River Vision and it's propaganda machine, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram are at it again this morning. 

Is it wise for a "news" paper to insult the intelligence of its readers?  We guess if it's okay for the government, it's okay for them.

Things like "the goal is to create more flood storage..."  If you weren't messing with the river, you wouldn't need flood storage.

They also "remain confident" concerning funding. Because now instead of Kay Granger asking for it, she'll have Kay Bailey Hutchison (and John Cornyn) ask for it.  Is this the same Kay Bailey Hutchison who lied and said she would give up her seat whether she won or lost?

Be sure and read the comments as well, they weren't paid for by the Trinity River Vision or the Tarrant Regional Water Board.

Pants on fire...

Kay Bailey Hutchison breaks her promise to resign. Surprised? Us either.

Read the article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Hutchison, who serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, has also pledged vigorous support for Trinity River Vision, Fort Worth's $909 million economic development and flood control project, which has been characterized as an earmark, Washington-speak for targeted federal spending projects.

$60 Million Dollars

That is the amount wasted in the Trans-Texas Corridor per WFAA. "TXDOT says after the TTC collapse it will listen better to balance property rights and transportation needs."

Did you hear that? They will LISTEN better.
Did you get your money's worth?

Kay Bailey Bailey Hutchison is now being endorsed by the Texas Farm Bureau. They were vocal against the eminent domain of the TTC. Why isn't Kay against eminent domain in Fort Worth for TRV? Ask her.