i guess we shall wait and see if greg abott will show up here and talk with us common texans and explain why he is for destroying are great state and america with thr trans texas corridor
The TTC is just another highway. And if you're that opposed, please don't be a hypocrit. Stop driving on highways and interstates that are laid through and near the land and homes belonging to others. You being against new highways and all, seems only right you stop driving on them. After all, years ago someone felt like you did, but you don't seem to mind chugging right along on their old homestead to get where YOU need to go.
I bet he is going after big oil in a private plane or SUV. Did he come to Decatur on horseback? I kind of doubt it. Listen up people. Big oil does not set the price of gasoline. It's traded on the commodities and futures market. If you want cheap gas, tell Iran, N. Korea and all the world wide terrorists to cool it and join the 21st century. By the way, it wouldn't hurt if you tree hugging liberals would allow domestic drilling and the building of new refineries. Glad I could clear that up. Just a thought, was Al Gore with this joker today. You remember him don't you. He is the guy that has a fortune in Oxy Petroleum stocks that his daddy gave him when he was on the board of Oxy.
6:20PM, are you one of the morons from the WCM forums? There are a few posters who can't stop beating the dead horse topics no matter what the actual topic of a thread is. The amusing thing is, while they're all riled up about their particular hot button issue, so much other stuff is going on beneath their noses.
It was Great to have someone who actually cares about Wise County on the steps of the Court House.
If you are happy about the Trans Texas Corridor coming thru Wise County and you are happy about all these injection wells in the County then Van Os is NOT the man for you ...
Barry you are correct ... Wise County has had enough and the people are starting to stand up and scream ... take that highway and those wells somewhere else ....
Collection, So you want the gas companies to drill somewhere else? Where do you suggest? A county that doesn't have gas reserves? That doesn't seem to make sense and it probably doesn't make sense to the gas companies either. This guy probably cares about Wise County as much as he cares about that boil on your ass that needs to be lanced. He is just trying to make you think that he can solve the price of gasoline by placing windfall profit taxes on it. Let me see now, higher taxes equal lower prices. If he wants to reduce the price of gas why not repeal the gas tax completely. Glad I could clear that up for you.
OK collection, pay attention. Allow for more refineries and allow for domestic drilling. The less we depend on midgets that are sitting on huge reserves and say that they need nuclear technology to build power plants will cause their demand to drop thus causing the price to drop. Are you with me so far. Next you wipe out terrorism and the fanatical regimes that fund it which makes the world nervous about the futures markets. Next you repeal federal taxes on gasoline, which for some strange reason democrats just can't grasp. And no I don't drink city water. I have my own well and my water is soft and it tastes real good. You city slickers go get your water at the grocery store and pay just about as much for it as you do gasoline. Same thing for milk. Do they import milk and water from halfway around the world. Why the high price? Glad I could lance that boil for you with facts and ideas which seem to be lacking on this blog.
Thank you for your ideas and suggestions. What I do know ...
"What ever we are doing now is NOT WORKING". I have had almost 6 years with Bush and there is a very bad taste and smell ...
I do not think "Dropping Nukes" is an answer. I do agree with Nuclear Energy but then again the waste from those plants pose a problem.
If one of these injection wells poison our water table there are no "Do Overs". Have you ever thought about Alternative Energy. You know .. that Tree Hugging Al Gore green house theory?
I don't think I ever suggested dropping nukes. That's why we have conventional weapons. Just drop a few daisy cutters on Kim Jong and I think he will get the message. I bet the rest of the kooks will get the message too. So you think that what we are doing is not working? Have you ever thought about not doing anything. Bush can't do it all by himself. It's gonna take a few more countries to help us. Wiping out terrorism will take years to win. This isn't a TV show that can have a peaceful conclusion in an hour. Think longterm. And no I haven't given alternative energy much thought. That is for private enterprise to develop. Did the government invent the car, plane, light bulb or telephone? If the market place demands it, believe me, someone will come up with a way to cash in. According to Al, the world should have ended four years ago. Somebody forgot to tell him it didn't. I gave you my suggestions on reducing the price of gas but I never heard yours. Just the same old tired democratic mantra, woe is me. Doom and gloom. Cheer up. Glad I could clear that up for you. Got anymore boils you need lanced?
It seems we don't do a very good job of looking in the mirror when we take a stand on issues. High oil prices, we complain yet it is us that guzzles fuel like there is no tomorrow and choose to live miles away from work and schools and other things we drive to. Coal plants that might put some pollution in the air (though these days the tech is so good it's hardly an issue) we complain but don't realize that the alternative is electricity bills that will double or triple. We don't want wells or roads, but we drive on them and consume. So much that we stand against is our own doing, and how we all earn our livelihoods, indirect or direct. Not in my backyard I guess...but OK in somebody else's.
I made the same exact point 8:27PM on the WCM forums. The main reason why the injection wells are here in the first place, and people automatically think you for for an oil company. These people demand cheap energy but don't want to admit they're the real reason for the pollution and excessive consumption. They need that BigDick F1000 to haul around their 300 pound heifer of a wife.
The only answer is more nuclear plants. Coal is still tremendously filthy even with current scrubber technology. We've built so many natural gas plants that now we're running low on natural gas.
Nuclear is clean, safe, and disposal of the waste is not a big deal. Build a few specialized reactors and then we can use certain wastes as fuel in those. "Terrorist" attacks are a non-issue. Whatever they'd try, it wouldn't get through the containment barrier.
I made the same exact point 8:27PM on the WCM forums. The main reason why the injection wells are here in the first place, and people automatically think you for for an oil company. These people demand cheap energy but don't want to admit they're the real reason for the pollution and excessive consumption. They need that BigDick F1000 to haul around their 300 pound heifer of a wife.
The only answer is more nuclear plants. Coal is still tremendously filthy even with current scrubber technology. We've built so many natural gas plants that now we're running low on natural gas.
Nuclear is clean, safe, and disposal of the waste is not a big deal. Build a few specialized reactors and then we can use certain wastes as fuel in those. "Terrorist" attacks are a non-issue. Whatever they'd try, it wouldn't get through the containment barrier.
8;24 Thanks for the compliment. Your one line intellectual posts add alot to the debate at hand. Can you string two sentences together with coherent thought? Are you the same Einstein that was going to get back with me on your analytical data on the Vern Robinson post about why African Americans hate blacks? I am through trying to reason with door knobs and dipsticks for the evening. Talk amongst yourselves. I'm sure it will be real stimulating conversation. I'll be back.
Okay, let me break it down for all you "rocket scientists" out there...
Do you know where Wise County would be without it's Oil and Gas? Look at counties like Wichita, whose oil boom went bust... Rise in unemployment, poverty level living, poor schools. You can't have your cake and eat it too! Enjoy it while it's good because it won't last forever.
Here's some actual facts for you:
The estimated population of Wise County in 2003 was 54,465, a 3.0 percent increase from the 2002 population. New statistics show it's growing by leaps and bounds. Guess why? Wise County's economy is driven by agribusiness, OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION, recreation and hunting leases. Agricultural cash receipts averaged $44.9 million annually for 2000-2003. The combined estimated value of oil and gas production in 2003 was $761.8 million, a 1.0 percent increase from the previous year.
Wise County's unemployment rate was 3.7 percent in June 2004, down from 4.9 percent the previous year. As of January 2002, property values in Wise County totaled $3.6 billion, up 8.1 percent from January 2001 values. Care to guess why?
Combined sales of oil, gas and natural gas liquids increased 25 percent from the second quarter of 2003 to $1.8 billion. The sales increase reflects higher production volumes and higher prices for all three products.
Devon Energy reported total daily oil, gas and natural gas liquids production climbed 11 percent in the second quarter of 2003. And it's growing! Devon Energy is a major producer of natural gas from the Barnett Shale formation in Wise County and operates a natural gas refinery in Bridgeport.
The company is the LARGEST taxpayer in Wise County and in several area school districts.
Better economy, more jobs, better homes, better schools. Care to guess why?
I wish all the "tree huggers" in this county would ride bicyles (oops! Those tires are petroleum based products) down the road, (oops!What's in that asphalt?) right out of Wise to a county that is free from oil and gas production. Wonder how they'd like it? I wonder if there were people whining 50 years ago about the coal mines?
And those same companies will leave this county as a wasteland when the oil and gas is gone. Just like the quarries will be giant mosquito pits when the limestone dries up.
Short-term gain now, uninhabitable county later. Hubbert's peak has already proven true with Texas oil, natural gas is next. Think about it, four million gallons of water to frac a well. That's per well. Two days worth of water for Decatur to prop up a dying well. Once the well production falls off a cliff, water is used to squeeze the last bit out. The aquifer is people pumped dry.
Yes, people did bitch even more about coal mines. When you have people die because of corporate greed, they get a little ticked off. And then there is places like Centralia, PA. There is no longer a town, because a coal vein caught fire and can't be put out.
And I have a mountain bike, I don't need roads. Since when did natural rubber become petroleum-based? Not all synthetic rubber is petroleum-based, either. I imagine you think synthetic oil is dead dino juice, too.
There is such a thing as putting all your eggs in one basket. Wichita County is mildly diversified for jobs, while Wise County is not. Wichita Clutch, Delphi, among others.
Wise County has what kind of jobs again? Oil and concrete. Both have an extremely limited lifespan. I guess you could go to work for the 47 gift shops in Decatur or Bridgeport. Selling to the people that are leaving town after the oil dries up.
9:47, You better watch out or your going to be called a real ass, rascist, boot licker, troll, dumbass, bigot, and many other things if you keep speaking the truth. Talking truth to airheads reminds me of the famous line by Jack Nicholson in the movie, "A Few Good Men", "You can't handle the truth". Another movie in a long line of demonizing the military. Thanks for the facts and figures. It's hard for them to argue the truth, but be assured that some will without their own facts. Believe me, it's much harder to preach to the congregation than it is the choir.
Clue, how is that mountain bike working out for you? Climbed Mt. Everest around here lately? The next time I see you cutting through my property because you are opposed to roads, I am going to mistake you for a coyote. If you are that much of an extreme Al Gore died in the wool green peace activist, are you using a wind up computer that uses no electricity?
How long a charge does your Ronco computer hold? Can you take it with you up Mt. Everest in Boyd? So if you are wireless do you make rabbit ears out of your tinfoil hat? Glad to know you've gone solar but I think the sun is frying your grey matter with all the tin foil wrapped around it. Have fun on these 100 degree days tooling around Wise county like a Jehova's witness on your earth friendly mountain bike. Does it have a leather seat? Probably not because a cow had to die to make one big enough for your green friendly ass. So my guess is that it's made out of naugahyde. How many naugas died for your bicycle seat? Thanks from all of us driving around in our air conditioned cars for doing your part to prevent global warming. Sincerely.
5 hours, thank you very much. Made of babykilling aluminum.
When the gas runs out and nobody can afford electricity here, you won't stay down here because of the summer heat and I'll have it all to myself again.
I know you love leather, your wife's skin is like a baseball glove. The first time I saw her I mistook her for a leper with all the moles.
You and I don't have to worry about running out of gas. According to Al Gore, the end of civilization is less than 10 years away, so go ahead and live in a tree without electricity. I will live out my life in comfort and modern conveniences. I am going to use as much gas as I can because I would hate to know that I conserved it for future generations when there will be no future. Don't let my exhaust fumes make you light headed and fall out of your tree. Enjoy tomorrow. It is supposed to be 100 degrees and continually rising until the end of time.
David Van Os knows the truth about the Trans Texas Corridor. Do you know customs for the NAFA super highway will be in Kansas City? Yep! Kansas City.
Do you know one of the richest men in the world from Hong Kong has bought a port in Mexico and will by-pass LA with goods coming in from China?
Did you know when the goods from China are loaded on Mexican trucks, the check point in Laredo will be a speed bump with a CINTRA from Spain doing the speed check?
If you want those Mexican trucks speeding through Wise County, the guy with the cowboy hat is NOT your candidate. Vote for Greg Abbot!
Greg Abott won't be coming to Wise County. Wise County Republicans won't be passing a hat to pay for his gas or motel bill. Why?
Cause Greg Abott has $8,000,000 in his campaign fund to spend on TV ads this all... And he is going to be telling all of you that Big Oil and Big Insurance company aren't ripping you off! And some of you are going to go keep believeing.
Van Os knows how the Supreme Court in 2005 paved the way with their eminent domain decision. Remember the one that says it is constitutional to take away your home, farm, property for economic development to privately owned corporation.
Van Os is going to the people to stop the biggest land grab in the State of Texas.
Van Os is going to the people to stop the unconsitutional toll fees!
It is up to you. If you want a people's lawyer who will take on the monopolies of big insurance companies and Exxon Mobil, the man who will do it was standing on the courthouse steps yesterday.
Van Os has to be a threat cause the trolls are trying to take over this thread!
Big Insurance companies better watch out when Van Os is elected. Abott lets them charge homeowners $$$$$ and does nothing. Remeber when we could afford $500 deductible home insurance.
Big Insurance is driving health care cost up to the point people can't afford health care insurance unless it is paid for by their employer.
And co-pays and deductibles are going up to the point it costs too much to go to the doctor.
Van Os has worked for over 30 years for working people and the underdog. He could make big bucks working for Silk Stocking Row.
There are times in the history of our country that the people had to come together in grass roots efforts to fight back against Big Business....like in 1810 against the Railroad Barons.
Texans are different because of our great constitution! Van Os quoted the Texas constitution on the courthouse steps yesterday.
It is our duty and our responsiblity to take back our state for democracy.
We can't wait because the time is now. We don't have any more time to act.
This November, there will be choices for change in our great state. If the people know and if the people hear, the people will take back the state of Texas.
6:40 The Trans-Texas Corridor is not another highway. It is the major link in a NAFTA Super highway connecting North and South America.
The proposed secondary route through Wise County only benefits international trade and Big corporations who are going offshore to manufacture goods and products.
One in six manufacturing jobs have been lost in the USA since Bush took office in 2000!
The NAFTA super highway will be financed by CINTRA from Spain. Zackry Corporation from San Antionio will be involved in the joint venture.
Cintra will collect tolls from the super highway for 50 years. Wow! What a cash cow?
And within the righ a ways will be utility lines. Big corporations and the richest of rich are buying up water rights. So two more cash cows will be selling of water and electricity.
How does this impact me? Well, I have to drive to work, so I will have to pay a toll to get to work...$400 a month or whatever Cintra wants to charge.
I have to have water, so I pay whatever for that. No vote, no control. Foreign owned.
I have to have electricity, so I pay whatever the going rate is for that...remember Enron in California.
It is the selling off of American to foreign countries.
The NAFTA super highway and the Trans-Texas Corridor is the beginning.
Why does everything so rotten have to start here in Texas????
Why do people keep bringing up the loss of jobs to Mexico?
News flash: You did it yourself! You wanted cheap goods. You didn't care about buying quality merchandise made in the US and sold by a store that actually paid their employees a living wage.
Now that the jobs are permanently gone (because you can't seperate our society from cheap consumber goods) you think some drugstore cowboy is going to reverse the habits of Texas much less the whole nation? Please.
We've made our bed, now its time to lie in it.
I will bet any amount of money, land, and whatever else that absolutely nothing will change is Os gets elected. He is just another pig in a different dress.
Not one single job will return. I will stake anything on that.
Yup, It looks like the kooks from the WCM board have invaded with their 2 issue protest of injection wells and TTC. I suggest they continue to beat those horses on their own (seldom viewed) board.
Another suggestion: let's just ignore reagan rip. His myopic bleatings just go nowhere. Why listen to Rush's garbage being repeated by this guy who has nothing better to do than patrol this board. It’s not that he has nothing to say, he just seems incapable of learning.
Yes, Reagan RIP has ruined this blog for me...he needs to open his own blog but who would post? Cause if they want to hear his trully original opinions they'll just turn on that druggy Rush.
Fair markets are one thing, the free for all market we have today, in which corporations do not simply have the protections of individual citizens, but actually have MORE protections than the individual has is another thing altogether.
The U.S. based oil companies are making RECORD PROFITS, not just record income due to an increase in spending or anything like that. If it was the case that China and India were really competing with us for oil, it would be the suppliers in the middle east making record profits, while our companies would be about the same. That's not what is happening. People sitting over here are making the record profits. It's pure price gouging because they bought the White House. It's just that simple.
Fascinating how the cost per barrel goes up a few dollars on the nightly news and the 10 cent per gallon increase is on the gas station signs the next morning! Without manipulation of the retail prices, that sort of increase should take weeks to work its way through the system.
The facts of daily life refute your arguments. Take the Greenwood Grocery for example. They get their tanks filled up with gas and they pay for that gas. They then set the price for that gas that allows them to make a modest profit. They do not raise the price of that gas just because, on the stock market there was an increase. The owners of the Greenwood Grocery in tiny Greenwood, Texas seem to understand that such an action would be price gouging. When they receive another load of gasoline, they set the price on that load.
About David Van Os:
He could easily make a fabulous living working as a corporate lawyer. He chose instead to be a people's lawyer and has spent 30 years fighting for working people. That's proof that he is not your typical political corporate shill and that he cares about Texans. Please stop by Texas Ethics Commission and compare Abbott’s donors to Van Os'.
It really matters not what the far, far right thinks. The fact is that Republicans and Democrats are coming together and finding common ground in the need to get our state and country back on the right track. This is not the year for either party to vote on a strict party line. However, there certainly are some fringe on both sides who will stick with their party even if Satan himself were the candidate. I don’t waste my time on them.
Van Os stands behind what he says, unabashedly. I find that entirely impressive--and, I'm not a Democrat. I actually wish I'd known he was going to be in Decatur the other day....I'd have taken a "field trip" to listen to what he had to say.
The Houston Chronicle's Rick Casey http://tinyurl.com/oqxv8 reports on Abbott's staggering conflict of interest:
"ONE thing you have to like about Texas politicians is their resistance to embarrassment.
Take the case of Attorney General Greg Abbott.
Last Dec. 15 he received $100,000 in campaign contributions from Houston homebuilder Bob Perry and his wife.
The next day, he received a letter from Rep. David Swinford of Dumas, chairman of the House Committee on State Affairs.
Swinford wanted Abbott to issue a formal opinion on whether Grandma, a.k.a. state Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, had the authority to conduct a review of the performance of the newly created and controversial Texas Residential Construction Commission."
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott was paralyzed after a tree branch fell on him while he was jogging in Houston’s ritzy River Oaks neighborhood (Abbott didn’t live in River Oaks, he just jogged there).
Naturally, Abbott filed a personal injury lawsuit against the homeowner whose tree dropped a branch while Abbott was jogging underneath.
Naturally, Abbott settled his own personal injury lawsuit for millions of dollars.
Naturally, Abbott has used these millions to fund his political career.
Naturally, one of the main themes in Abbott’s political career has been his effort to prevent injured people from having a fair opportunity to ask a jury of their peers to decide their claims against the careless people and corporations who caused their injuries. Wait a second. What's up with that?
Naturally, when you perform a Google search for "Greg Abbott" with “hypocrite” you get hundreds of results.
Naturally, you should not vote for Greg Abbott because he’s both an egregious hypocrite and a lousy Attorney General.
Doesn't take much brain power to reason that one out.
Hello simpletons. Wow, there sure was a lot of dribble since my last post. Sorry it's been awhile since my last post, but those anti depressants and the Ritilan that were prescribed for me by the left wing moonbats made me sleepy. I'm off of them now and want all you parents to give them to your children so you can manage them. Hey, didn't they just make a movie about this Van O guy? He looks good on billboards with that red cape. Why did he wait so long to come and save us? Texas needs this one man cavalry. If he is as good as you say, why not just skip the small stuff and put him up for President? He has my vote. If you want a blog where everyone agrees with you, go to Daily Kos or moveon.org. Your kook fringe views will all be welcomed there. Just noticed that tin foil is on sale at IGA. Stock up and get that hat made today.
11:47 Thanks. I'm busted. I've been exposed. The liberals pay me very well to make the vast right wing conspiracy look bad. Hillary pays me in 100 dollar bills and I keep them in the freezer. But even though you have me on video tape accepting the money, you can't prove it so I have nothing to fear. Plus she let's me use her bedroom to hide FBI files that I misplaced for 2 years. Glad to clear that up for you.
It's one thing to hit the wrong key and spell in error as you blog. Or to subconsciously type there instead of their while your thoughts are flowing. But it's another to deliberately insert characters that should not be there. That is not a sign of fast fingers, but a sign of stupidity.
For those who were unable to attend the hearing Tuesday night.
Copied from http:// www.sandflat.blogspot.com/
Wise County Citizens Say “No” to Trans Texas Corridor!!!
The TXDOT (Texas Department of Transportation) public hearing on the TTC (Trans Texas Corridor) was held on Tuesday evening at the Decatur Civic Center. A crowd of around 300 citizens gathered to hear the presentation. It was a presentation loaded with maps and video slides but very short on definitive answers. Following the presentation, eighteen speakers came forward to express their opinions about the controversial TTC. Of the eighteen speakers, only four supported the TTC, and three of those four were elected officials from North Richland Hills who came to Wise County to support the NCTCOG (North Texas Council of Governments) proposal to put a controversial alternate bypass route through Wise County.
The overwhelming negative response to the Trans Texas Corridor was evident. Thunderous applause erupted during the opposition talks, but a dropping pin could be heard when those few supporting the TTC spoke. Widespread political opposition to the TTC is growing. Both the Texas Democratic and Texas Republican 2006 Party Platforms have denounced the TTC. Gubernatorial candidates Strayhorn, Friedman, and Bell have denounced the TTC. David Van Os, Democratic candidate for Texas Attorney General, has come out against the TTC. The list of candidates (of every political affiliation) speaking out in opposition to the TTC is spreading faster than a grassfire.
It was obvious that the opposition speakers were well-informed and had come with plenty of ammunition. One speaker brought out the fact that there is more truck traffic in Wise County than in any other county in Texas and perhaps the entire country. A bypass route through Wise County would only increase already dangerous truck traffic, pollute the air with smog, and do nothing for the local economy because land taken by eminent domain for the TTC would be removed from the local tax rolls.
Speakers directly affected by having land in the TTC study area spoke of the prospect of losing their historic family land to eminent domain. One man spoke of not being able to sell his land near Eagle Mountain Lake due to the cloud of uncertainty that has depressed land values in the 10-mile wide study area.
Another citizen explained that building a massive tollway based on 54-year traffic pattern projections was ludicrous. He pointed out that in 1952 no one would have even dreamed of the internet or other modern innovations that have changed how we do business and move goods today. Few people today can even project how traffic patterns will be changed in five years by rising gas prices, alternative fuels, innovative hybrid cars, and other undreamed of inventions.
If the TTC goes through as planned, Texans will be paying ever rising tolls to the Cintra-Zachary consortium for the next 50 years. Much of the income will come from new toll taxes imposed on existing free roads that have already been paid for by our taxes. Cintra, a Spanish company, has a nasty reputation for aggressive toll collection and for raising tolls without public input. According to a January 25, 2005 article by Gordon Dickson, a staff writer for the Fort Worth Star Telegram, since Cintra began controlling tolls in Canada, “Tolls have gone up 200 percent!”
Hank Gilbert, Democratic Candidate for Secretary of Agriculture, believes that the Trans-Texas Corridor will be the defining issue in the upcoming state races. Gilbert spoke at the hearing about the loss of hundreds of thousands of acres of prime agricultural land to the TTC. According to Gilbert, toll roads will destroy the existing taxable land, driving up taxes for everyone whose land isn’t taken by the State for the TTC. The TTC will destroy Texas agriculture by making it impossible for Texas farmers and ranchers to obtain financing. Small business will be hurt when they can’t afford to relocate or pay massive concessions to Cintra. It has been projected that the TTC will remove as much as 584,000 acres of productive Texas agricultural land and will displace at least 1 million people from their homes!!!
Most of the opposition centered on the fact that the Trans Texas Corridor is part of the little publicized free-trade movement to integrate the U.S., Mexico and Canada into a European -style Union. This North American Union, if it comes about, would severely hamper, if not completely end, U.S. sovereignty.
TXDOT has been selling the TTC to the public as a means to alleviate future traffic congestion and to increase commerce. But TXDOT was accused during the hearing of misleading the public about the true purpose of the TTC by not openly publicizing the NAFTA intent for the TTC . Few people have bothered to read the 4,000-page Environmental Impact Statement posted on the Trans-Texas Corridor website. On page 3 it reveals the NAFTA purpose of the TTC project.
TXDOT has been accused by many of cronyism, insider dealings, and conflicts of interest and TXDOT is fighting to keep contract agreements with the Cintra-Zachary consortium secret. Last year, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott ruled that the contract must be made public. But the consortium and the transportation commission have filed suit to overturn that ruling on grounds that it contains sensitive proprietary information.
During the hearing it was pointed out by one speaker, that there will be no statewide or local vote on specific Trans Texas Corridor routes. Our county commissioners and county judge, however, will have input with TXDOT. Unless Texans can get some form of referendum or initiative process to roll back this horrible Corridor legislation, the Corridor will be built without full public disclosure and with no legislative oversight! This is why it is so very important for every Texan to vote this year for candidates who have pledged to fight the TTC, and who have a public record of fighting these insider corporate special interests.
Please Make Your Public Comments
The federal government requires that TXDOT must address public comments made about the TTC. Please take the opportunity to make your public comments before August 21st. Go to the comments page at KeepTexasMoving.org http://www.keeptexasmoving.org/comments_questions/ttc-35_comments.htm
Or Mail your comment to: Mr. Ed Pensock, Jr., PE Director of Turnpike Corridor Systems Texas Department of Transportation P.O. Box 14707 Austin, TX 78761-4707
For an eye-opening account of who stands to gain, read “Trans-Texas Corridor paved with campaign contributions?:San Antonio construction company, capital consortium from Spain stand to gain” at http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51023
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55 comments:
All hat no cattle
i guess we shall wait and see if greg abott will show up here and talk with us common texans and explain why he is for destroying are great state and america with thr trans texas corridor
The TTC is just another highway. And if you're that opposed, please don't be a hypocrit. Stop driving on highways and interstates that are laid through and near the land and homes belonging to others. You being against new highways and all, seems only right you stop driving on them. After all, years ago someone felt like you did, but you don't seem to mind chugging right along on their old homestead to get where YOU need to go.
I bet he is going after big oil in a private plane or SUV. Did he come to Decatur on horseback? I kind of doubt it. Listen up people. Big oil does not set the price of gasoline. It's traded on the commodities and futures market. If you want cheap gas, tell Iran, N. Korea and all the world wide terrorists to cool it and join the 21st century. By the way, it wouldn't hurt if you tree hugging liberals would allow domestic drilling and the building of new refineries. Glad I could clear that up. Just a thought, was Al Gore with this joker today. You remember him don't you. He is the guy that has a fortune in Oxy Petroleum stocks that his daddy gave him when he was on the board of Oxy.
6:20PM, are you one of the morons from the WCM forums? There are a few posters who can't stop beating the dead horse topics no matter what the actual topic of a thread is. The amusing thing is, while they're all riled up about their particular hot button issue, so much other stuff is going on beneath their noses.
It was Great to have someone who actually cares about Wise County on the steps of the Court House.
If you are happy about the Trans Texas Corridor coming thru Wise County and you are happy about all these injection wells in the County then Van Os is NOT the man for you ...
Barry you are correct ...
Wise County has had enough and the people are starting to stand up and scream ... take that highway and those wells somewhere else ....
"YOU CANT GET THERE FROM HERE" ...
Collection, So you want the gas companies to drill somewhere else? Where do you suggest? A county that doesn't have gas reserves? That doesn't seem to make sense and it probably doesn't make sense to the gas companies either. This guy probably cares about Wise County as much as he cares about that boil on your ass that needs to be lanced. He is just trying to make you think that he can solve the price of gasoline by placing windfall profit taxes on it. Let me see now, higher taxes equal lower prices. If he wants to reduce the price of gas why not repeal the gas tax completely. Glad I could clear that up for you.
Clue Patrol ...
If he does not stop the Trans Texas Corridor or all these injection wells in the county.
You are going to have just a hat and no cattle. Please do some research and watch out for these "Marshmellow Minded" Reagan RIP type.
But if you are HAPPY with whats going on in America and Wise County then I want to wish you the best.
Reagan RIP ...
Please tell us your plan on how you would reduce oil prices? Please debate facts or ideas ...
The present plan is killing Middle America and Wise County is Middle America.
I do not have a problem with Wells. I do have a problem with injection wells. I assume you drink city water?
And I do not need him to Lance that Boil on my ass ...
That's what I got you for :)
OK collection, pay attention. Allow for more refineries and allow for domestic drilling. The less we depend on midgets that are sitting on huge reserves and say that they need nuclear technology to build power plants will cause their demand to drop thus causing the price to drop. Are you with me so far. Next you wipe out terrorism and the fanatical regimes that fund it which makes the world nervous about the futures markets. Next you repeal federal taxes on gasoline, which for some strange reason democrats just can't grasp. And no I don't drink city water. I have my own well and my water is soft and it tastes real good. You city slickers go get your water at the grocery store and pay just about as much for it as you do gasoline. Same thing for milk. Do they import milk and water from halfway around the world. Why the high price? Glad I could lance that boil for you with facts and ideas which seem to be lacking on this blog.
Reagan ...
Thank you for your ideas and suggestions. What I do know ...
"What ever we are doing now is NOT WORKING". I have had almost 6 years with Bush and there is a very bad taste and smell ...
I do not think "Dropping Nukes" is an answer. I do agree with Nuclear Energy but then again the waste from those plants pose a problem.
If one of these injection wells poison our water table there are no "Do Overs". Have you ever thought about Alternative Energy. You know .. that Tree Hugging Al Gore green house theory?
I don't think I ever suggested dropping nukes. That's why we have conventional weapons. Just drop a few daisy cutters on Kim Jong and I think he will get the message. I bet the rest of the kooks will get the message too. So you think that what we are doing is not working? Have you ever thought about not doing anything. Bush can't do it all by himself. It's gonna take a few more countries to help us. Wiping out terrorism will take years to win. This isn't a TV show that can have a peaceful conclusion in an hour. Think longterm. And no I haven't given alternative energy much thought. That is for private enterprise to develop. Did the government invent the car, plane, light bulb or telephone? If the market place demands it, believe me, someone will come up with a way to cash in. According to Al, the world should have ended four years ago. Somebody forgot to tell him it didn't. I gave you my suggestions on reducing the price of gas but I never heard yours. Just the same old tired democratic mantra, woe is me. Doom and gloom. Cheer up. Glad I could clear that up for you. Got anymore boils you need lanced?
Wow!!! Reagan, your a REAL ASS!
It seems we don't do a very good job of looking in the mirror when we take a stand on issues. High oil prices, we complain yet it is us that guzzles fuel like there is no tomorrow and choose to live miles away from work and schools and other things we drive to. Coal plants that might put some pollution in the air (though these days the tech is so good it's hardly an issue) we complain but don't realize that the alternative is electricity bills that will double or triple. We don't want wells or roads, but we drive on them and consume. So much that we stand against is our own doing, and how we all earn our livelihoods, indirect or direct. Not in my backyard I guess...but OK in somebody else's.
I made the same exact point 8:27PM on the WCM forums. The main reason why the injection wells are here in the first place, and people automatically think you for for an oil company. These people demand cheap energy but don't want to admit they're the real reason for the pollution and excessive consumption. They need that BigDick F1000 to haul around their 300 pound heifer of a wife.
The only answer is more nuclear plants. Coal is still tremendously filthy even with current scrubber technology. We've built so many natural gas plants that now we're running low on natural gas.
Nuclear is clean, safe, and disposal of the waste is not a big deal. Build a few specialized reactors and then we can use certain wastes as fuel in those. "Terrorist" attacks are a non-issue. Whatever they'd try, it wouldn't get through the containment barrier.
I made the same exact point 8:27PM on the WCM forums. The main reason why the injection wells are here in the first place, and people automatically think you for for an oil company. These people demand cheap energy but don't want to admit they're the real reason for the pollution and excessive consumption. They need that BigDick F1000 to haul around their 300 pound heifer of a wife.
The only answer is more nuclear plants. Coal is still tremendously filthy even with current scrubber technology. We've built so many natural gas plants that now we're running low on natural gas.
Nuclear is clean, safe, and disposal of the waste is not a big deal. Build a few specialized reactors and then we can use certain wastes as fuel in those. "Terrorist" attacks are a non-issue. Whatever they'd try, it wouldn't get through the containment barrier.
8;24 Thanks for the compliment. Your one line intellectual posts add alot to the debate at hand. Can you string two sentences together with coherent thought? Are you the same Einstein that was going to get back with me on your analytical data on the Vern Robinson post about why African Americans hate blacks? I am through trying to reason with door knobs and dipsticks for the evening. Talk amongst yourselves. I'm sure it will be real stimulating conversation. I'll be back.
Okay, let me break it down for all you "rocket scientists" out there...
Do you know where Wise County would be without it's Oil and Gas? Look at counties like Wichita, whose oil boom went bust...
Rise in unemployment, poverty level living, poor schools. You can't have your cake and eat it too! Enjoy it while it's good because it won't last forever.
Here's some actual facts for you:
The estimated population of Wise County in 2003 was 54,465, a 3.0 percent increase from the 2002 population. New statistics show it's growing by leaps and bounds. Guess why? Wise County's economy is driven by agribusiness, OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION, recreation and hunting leases. Agricultural cash receipts averaged $44.9 million annually for 2000-2003. The combined estimated value of oil and gas production in 2003 was $761.8 million, a 1.0 percent increase from the previous year.
Wise County's unemployment rate was 3.7 percent in June 2004, down from 4.9 percent the previous year. As of January 2002, property values in Wise County totaled $3.6 billion, up 8.1 percent from January 2001 values. Care to guess why?
Combined sales of oil, gas and natural gas liquids increased 25 percent from the second quarter of 2003 to $1.8 billion. The sales increase reflects higher production volumes and higher prices for all three products.
Devon Energy reported total daily oil, gas and natural gas liquids production climbed 11 percent in the second quarter of 2003. And it's growing! Devon Energy is a major producer of natural gas from the Barnett Shale formation in Wise County and operates a natural gas refinery in Bridgeport.
The company is the LARGEST taxpayer in Wise County and in several area school districts.
Better economy, more jobs, better homes, better schools. Care to guess why?
I wish all the "tree huggers" in this county would ride bicyles (oops! Those tires are petroleum based products) down the road, (oops!What's in that asphalt?) right out of Wise to a county that is free from oil and gas production. Wonder how they'd like it? I wonder if there were people whining 50 years ago about the coal mines?
And those same companies will leave this county as a wasteland when the oil and gas is gone. Just like the quarries will be giant mosquito pits when the limestone dries up.
Short-term gain now, uninhabitable county later. Hubbert's peak has already proven true with Texas oil, natural gas is next. Think about it, four million gallons of water to frac a well. That's per well. Two days worth of water for Decatur to prop up a dying well. Once the well production falls off a cliff, water is used to squeeze the last bit out. The aquifer is people pumped dry.
Yes, people did bitch even more about coal mines. When you have people die because of corporate greed, they get a little ticked off. And then there is places like Centralia, PA. There is no longer a town, because a coal vein caught fire and can't be put out.
And I have a mountain bike, I don't need roads. Since when did natural rubber become petroleum-based? Not all synthetic rubber is petroleum-based, either. I imagine you think synthetic oil is dead dino juice, too.
There is such a thing as putting all your eggs in one basket. Wichita County is mildly diversified for jobs, while Wise County is not. Wichita Clutch, Delphi, among others.
Wise County has what kind of jobs again? Oil and concrete. Both have an extremely limited lifespan. I guess you could go to work for the 47 gift shops in Decatur or Bridgeport. Selling to the people that are leaving town after the oil dries up.
9:47, You better watch out or your going to be called a real ass, rascist, boot licker, troll, dumbass, bigot, and many other things if you keep speaking the truth. Talking truth to airheads reminds me of the famous line by Jack Nicholson in the movie, "A Few Good Men", "You can't handle the truth". Another movie in a long line of demonizing the military. Thanks for the facts and figures. It's hard for them to argue the truth, but be assured that some will without their own facts. Believe me, it's much harder to preach to the congregation than it is the choir.
Clue, how is that mountain bike working out for you? Climbed Mt. Everest around here lately? The next time I see you cutting through my property because you are opposed to roads, I am going to mistake you for a coyote. If you are that much of an extreme Al Gore died in the wool green peace activist, are you using a wind up computer that uses no electricity?
Why would I cut through your scrub land? I said I didn't need roads, not that I tresspassed.
Better fit than a tub of lard, raygun. It leads to Alzheimer's and dementia. But you're already there.
And using solar is nice, unless you like paying Wise Count Electric more money. Until they wise up and stop building natural gas plants.
How long a charge does your Ronco computer hold? Can you take it with you up Mt. Everest in Boyd? So if you are wireless do you make rabbit ears out of your tinfoil hat? Glad to know you've gone solar but I think the sun is frying your grey matter with all the tin foil wrapped around it. Have fun on these 100 degree days tooling around Wise county like a Jehova's witness on your earth friendly mountain bike. Does it have a leather seat? Probably not because a cow had to die to make one big enough for your green friendly ass. So my guess is that it's made out of naugahyde. How many naugas died for your bicycle seat? Thanks from all of us driving around in our air conditioned cars for doing your part to prevent global warming. Sincerely.
5 hours, thank you very much. Made of babykilling aluminum.
When the gas runs out and nobody can afford electricity here, you won't stay down here because of the summer heat and I'll have it all to myself again.
I know you love leather, your wife's skin is like a baseball glove. The first time I saw her I mistook her for a leper with all the moles.
You and I don't have to worry about running out of gas. According to Al Gore, the end of civilization is less than 10 years away, so go ahead and live in a tree without electricity. I will live out my life in comfort and modern conveniences. I am going to use as much gas as I can because I would hate to know that I conserved it for future generations when there will be no future. Don't let my exhaust fumes make you light headed and fall out of your tree. Enjoy tomorrow. It is supposed to be 100 degrees and continually rising until the end of time.
Reagan Rip should run for Wise County Commissioner next year.
This is where a person can really work to assure what they want for a future generation.
And ride a horse to work to prove it.
BoOOOROing!! Lets talk Titties, Chicken and Beer!!!
David Van Os knows the truth about the Trans Texas Corridor. Do you know customs for the NAFA super highway will be in Kansas City? Yep! Kansas City.
Do you know one of the richest men in the world from Hong Kong has bought a port in Mexico and will by-pass LA with goods coming in from China?
Did you know when the goods from China are loaded on Mexican trucks, the check point in Laredo will be a speed bump with a CINTRA from Spain doing the speed check?
If you want those Mexican trucks speeding through Wise County, the guy with the cowboy hat is NOT your candidate. Vote for Greg Abbot!
Greg Abott won't be coming to Wise County. Wise County Republicans won't be passing a hat to pay for his gas or motel bill. Why?
Cause Greg Abott has $8,000,000 in his campaign fund to spend on TV ads this all... And he is going to be telling all of you that Big Oil and Big Insurance company aren't ripping you off! And some of you are going to go keep believeing.
Van Os knows how the Supreme Court in 2005 paved the way with their eminent domain decision. Remember the one that says it is constitutional to take away your home, farm, property for economic development to privately owned corporation.
Van Os is going to the people to stop the biggest land grab in the State of Texas.
Van Os is going to the people to stop the unconsitutional toll fees!
It is up to you. If you want a people's lawyer who will take on the monopolies of big insurance companies and Exxon Mobil, the man who will do it was standing on the courthouse steps yesterday.
He will be back in September.
Van Os has to be a threat cause the trolls are trying to take over this thread!
Big Insurance companies better watch out when Van Os is elected. Abott lets them charge homeowners $$$$$ and does nothing. Remeber when we could afford $500 deductible home insurance.
Big Insurance is driving health care cost up to the point people can't afford health care insurance unless it is paid for by their employer.
And co-pays and deductibles are going up to the point it costs too much to go to the doctor.
Van Os has worked for over 30 years for working people and the underdog. He could make big bucks working for Silk Stocking Row.
There are times in the history of our country that the people had to come together in grass roots efforts to fight back against Big Business....like in 1810 against the Railroad Barons.
Texans are different because of our great constitution! Van Os quoted the Texas constitution on the courthouse steps yesterday.
It is our duty and our responsiblity to take back our state for democracy.
We can't wait because the time is now. We don't have any more time to act.
This November, there will be choices for change in our great state. If the people know and if the people hear, the people will take back the state of Texas.
7:37 - very good. Predictions in some news places today think Americans will be voting Democratic for more and more candidates.
And it may be a really GOOD time to consider running for commissioner.
Boring to some. Important to others.
6:40 The Trans-Texas Corridor is not another highway. It is the major link in a NAFTA Super highway connecting North and South America.
The proposed secondary route through Wise County only benefits international trade and Big corporations who are going offshore to manufacture goods and products.
One in six manufacturing jobs have been lost in the USA since Bush took office in 2000!
The NAFTA super highway will be financed by CINTRA from Spain. Zackry Corporation from San Antionio will be involved in the joint venture.
Cintra will collect tolls from the super highway for 50 years. Wow! What a cash cow?
And within the righ a ways will be utility lines. Big corporations and the richest of rich are buying up water rights. So two more cash cows will be selling of water and electricity.
How does this impact me? Well, I have to drive to work, so I will have to pay a toll to get to work...$400 a month or whatever Cintra wants to charge.
I have to have water, so I pay whatever for that. No vote, no control. Foreign owned.
I have to have electricity, so I pay whatever the going rate is for that...remember Enron in California.
It is the selling off of American to foreign countries.
The NAFTA super highway and the Trans-Texas Corridor is the beginning.
Why does everything so rotten have to start here in Texas????
Why do people keep bringing up the loss of jobs to Mexico?
News flash: You did it yourself! You wanted cheap goods. You didn't care about buying quality merchandise made in the US and sold by a store that actually paid their employees a living wage.
Now that the jobs are permanently gone (because you can't seperate our society from cheap consumber goods) you think some drugstore cowboy is going to reverse the habits of Texas much less the whole nation? Please.
We've made our bed, now its time to lie in it.
I will bet any amount of money, land, and whatever else that absolutely nothing will change is Os gets elected. He is just another pig in a different dress.
Not one single job will return. I will stake anything on that.
Yup, It looks like the kooks from the WCM board have invaded with their 2 issue protest of injection wells and TTC. I suggest they continue to beat those horses on their own (seldom viewed) board.
Another suggestion: let's just ignore reagan rip. His myopic bleatings just go nowhere. Why listen to Rush's garbage being repeated by this guy who has nothing better to do than patrol this board. It’s not that he has nothing to say, he just seems incapable of learning.
man! where is miss america when you need her for world peace LOL
Yes, Reagan RIP has ruined this blog for me...he needs to open his own blog but who would post? Cause if they want to hear his trully original opinions they'll just turn on that druggy Rush.
i would post, go reagan,
and all 6 listeners of air america will protest and burn theyre bras
About the oil & gas pricing:
Fair markets are one thing, the free for all market we have today, in which corporations do not simply have the protections of individual citizens, but actually have MORE protections than the individual has is another thing altogether.
The U.S. based oil companies are making RECORD PROFITS, not just record income due to an increase in spending or anything like that. If it was the case that China and India were really competing with us for oil, it would be the suppliers in the middle east making record profits, while our companies would be about the same. That's not what is happening. People sitting over here are making the record profits. It's pure price gouging because they bought the White House. It's just that simple.
Fascinating how the cost per barrel goes up a few dollars on the nightly news and the 10 cent per gallon increase is on the gas station signs the next morning!
Without manipulation of the retail prices, that sort of increase should take weeks to work its way through the system.
The facts of daily life refute your arguments. Take the Greenwood Grocery for example. They get their tanks filled up with gas and they pay for that gas. They then set the price for that gas that allows them to make a modest profit. They do not raise the price of that gas just because, on the stock market there was an increase. The owners of the Greenwood Grocery in tiny Greenwood, Texas seem to understand that such an action would be price gouging. When they receive another load of gasoline, they set the price on that load.
About David Van Os:
He could easily make a fabulous living working as a corporate lawyer. He chose instead to be a people's lawyer and has spent 30 years fighting for working people. That's proof that he is not your typical political corporate shill and that he cares about Texans. Please stop by Texas Ethics Commission and compare Abbott’s donors to Van Os'.
It really matters not what the far, far right thinks. The fact is that Republicans and Democrats are coming together and finding common ground in the need to get our state and country back on the right track. This is not the year for either party to vote on a strict party line. However, there certainly are some fringe on both sides who will stick with their party even if Satan himself were the candidate. I don’t waste my time on them.
Reagan - you are a blabbering idiot~~!! get on some anti-depressants and chill the f&@k out!
Reagan,
It seems they can't argue with you so they are name-calling and trying to run you out of here. Typical.
Keep up the fight, you make some very good points.
10:25 - i wouldn't put it in those exact words, but do agree with you. Why can't people disagree without sniping at those whose views differ?
It's sad when that happens, because folks just quit posting.
And this is Barry's blog, not ours.
Thanks Barry!
Van Os stands behind what he says, unabashedly. I find that entirely impressive--and, I'm not a Democrat. I actually wish I'd known he was going to be in Decatur the other day....I'd have taken a "field trip" to listen to what he had to say.
Abbott = Hypocrite
http://tinyurl.com/p8hfo
The Houston Chronicle's Rick Casey http://tinyurl.com/oqxv8 reports on Abbott's staggering conflict of interest:
"ONE thing you have to like about Texas politicians is their resistance to embarrassment.
Take the case of Attorney General Greg Abbott.
Last Dec. 15 he received $100,000 in campaign contributions from Houston homebuilder Bob Perry and his wife.
The next day, he received a letter from Rep. David Swinford of Dumas, chairman of the House Committee on State Affairs.
Swinford wanted Abbott to issue a formal opinion on whether Grandma, a.k.a. state Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, had the authority to conduct a review of the performance of the newly created and controversial Texas Residential Construction Commission."
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott was paralyzed after a tree branch fell on him while he was jogging in Houston’s ritzy River Oaks neighborhood (Abbott didn’t live in River Oaks, he just jogged there).
Naturally, Abbott filed a personal injury lawsuit against the homeowner whose tree dropped a branch while Abbott was jogging underneath.
Naturally, Abbott settled his own personal injury lawsuit for millions of dollars.
Naturally, Abbott has used these millions to fund his political career.
Naturally, one of the main themes in Abbott’s political career has been his effort to prevent injured people from having a fair opportunity to ask a jury of their peers to decide their claims against the careless people and corporations who caused their injuries. Wait a second. What's up with that?
Naturally, when you perform a Google search for "Greg Abbott" with “hypocrite” you get hundreds of results.
Naturally, you should not vote for Greg Abbott because he’s both an egregious hypocrite and a lousy Attorney General.
Doesn't take much brain power to reason that one out.
Hello simpletons. Wow, there sure was a lot of dribble since my last post. Sorry it's been awhile since my last post, but those anti depressants and the Ritilan that were prescribed for me by the left wing moonbats made me sleepy. I'm off of them now and want all you parents to give them to your children so you can manage them. Hey, didn't they just make a movie about this Van O guy? He looks good on billboards with that red cape. Why did he wait so long to come and save us? Texas needs this one man cavalry. If he is as good as you say, why not just skip the small stuff and put him up for President? He has my vote. If you want a blog where everyone agrees with you, go to Daily Kos or moveon.org. Your kook fringe views will all be welcomed there. Just noticed that tin foil is on sale at IGA. Stock up and get that hat made today.
I know who reagan rip is!
He's a liberal plant put here to make the right fringe look so utterly ridiculous that moderates are driven to the left.
Nice job rr! Keep it up.
11:47 Thanks. I'm busted. I've been exposed. The liberals pay me very well to make the vast right wing conspiracy look bad. Hillary pays me in 100 dollar bills and I keep them in the freezer. But even though you have me on video tape accepting the money, you can't prove it so I have nothing to fear. Plus she let's me use her bedroom to hide FBI files that I misplaced for 2 years. Glad to clear that up for you.
It's one thing to hit the wrong key and spell in error as you blog. Or to subconsciously type there instead of their while your thoughts are flowing. But it's another to deliberately insert characters that should not be there. That is not a sign of fast fingers, but a sign of stupidity.
Why does my spelling bother you and not everyone elses. You are tho thenthitive. So their.
The WIZARD OF Os has got evrything under control.
Reagan, you're so vain, you probably thought my blog was about you. It was not.
For those who were unable to attend the hearing Tuesday night.
Copied from http:// www.sandflat.blogspot.com/
Wise County Citizens Say “No” to Trans Texas Corridor!!!
The TXDOT (Texas Department of Transportation) public hearing on the TTC (Trans Texas Corridor) was held on Tuesday evening at the Decatur Civic Center. A crowd of around 300 citizens gathered to hear the presentation. It was a presentation loaded with maps and video slides but very short on definitive answers. Following the presentation, eighteen speakers came forward to express their opinions about the controversial TTC. Of the eighteen speakers, only four supported the TTC, and three of those four were elected officials from North Richland Hills who came to Wise County to support the NCTCOG (North Texas Council of Governments) proposal to put a controversial alternate bypass route through Wise County.
The overwhelming negative response to the Trans Texas Corridor was evident. Thunderous applause erupted during the opposition talks, but a dropping pin could be heard when those few supporting the TTC spoke. Widespread political opposition to the TTC is growing. Both the Texas Democratic and Texas Republican 2006 Party Platforms have denounced the TTC. Gubernatorial candidates Strayhorn, Friedman, and Bell have denounced the TTC. David Van Os, Democratic candidate for Texas Attorney General, has come out against the TTC. The list of candidates (of every political affiliation) speaking out in opposition to the TTC is spreading faster than a grassfire.
It was obvious that the opposition speakers were well-informed and had come with plenty of ammunition. One speaker brought out the fact that there is more truck traffic in Wise County than in any other county in Texas and perhaps the entire country. A bypass route through Wise County would only increase already dangerous truck traffic, pollute the air with smog, and do nothing for the local economy because land taken by eminent domain for the TTC would be removed from the local tax rolls.
Speakers directly affected by having land in the TTC study area spoke of the prospect of losing their historic family land to eminent domain. One man spoke of not being able to sell his land near Eagle Mountain Lake due to the cloud of uncertainty that has depressed land values in the 10-mile wide study area.
Another citizen explained that building a massive tollway based on 54-year traffic pattern projections was ludicrous. He pointed out that in 1952 no one would have even dreamed of the internet or other modern innovations that have changed how we do business and move goods today. Few people today can even project how traffic patterns will be changed in five years by rising gas prices, alternative fuels, innovative hybrid cars, and other undreamed of inventions.
If the TTC goes through as planned, Texans will be paying ever rising tolls to the Cintra-Zachary consortium for the next 50 years. Much of the income will come from new toll taxes imposed on existing free roads that have already been paid for by our taxes. Cintra, a Spanish company, has a nasty reputation for aggressive toll collection and for raising tolls without public input. According to a January 25, 2005 article by Gordon Dickson, a staff writer for the Fort Worth Star Telegram, since Cintra began controlling tolls in Canada, “Tolls have gone up 200 percent!”
Hank Gilbert, Democratic Candidate for Secretary of Agriculture, believes that the Trans-Texas Corridor will be the defining issue in the upcoming state races. Gilbert spoke at the hearing about the loss of hundreds of thousands of acres of prime agricultural land to the TTC. According to Gilbert, toll roads will destroy the existing taxable land, driving up taxes for everyone whose land isn’t taken by the State for the TTC. The TTC will destroy Texas agriculture by making it impossible for Texas farmers and ranchers to obtain financing. Small business will be hurt when they can’t afford to relocate or pay massive concessions to Cintra. It has been projected that the TTC will remove as much as 584,000 acres of productive Texas agricultural land and will displace at least 1 million people from their homes!!!
Most of the opposition centered on the fact that the Trans Texas Corridor is part of the little publicized free-trade movement to integrate the U.S., Mexico and Canada into a European -style Union. This North American Union, if it comes about, would severely hamper, if not completely end, U.S. sovereignty.
TXDOT has been selling the TTC to the public as a means to alleviate future traffic congestion and to increase commerce. But TXDOT was accused during the hearing of misleading the public about the true purpose of the TTC by not openly publicizing the NAFTA intent for the TTC . Few people have bothered to read the 4,000-page Environmental Impact Statement posted on the Trans-Texas Corridor website. On page 3 it reveals the NAFTA purpose of the TTC project.
TXDOT has been accused by many of cronyism, insider dealings, and conflicts of interest and TXDOT is fighting to keep contract agreements with the Cintra-Zachary consortium secret. Last year, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott ruled that the contract must be made public. But the consortium and the transportation commission have filed suit to overturn that ruling on grounds that it contains sensitive proprietary information.
During the hearing it was pointed out by one speaker, that there will be no statewide or local vote on specific Trans Texas Corridor routes. Our county commissioners and county judge, however, will have input with TXDOT. Unless Texans can get some form of referendum or initiative process to roll back this horrible Corridor legislation, the Corridor will be built without full public disclosure and with no legislative oversight! This is why it is so very important for every Texan to vote this year for candidates who have pledged to fight the TTC, and who have a public record of fighting these insider corporate special interests.
Please Make Your Public Comments
The federal government requires that TXDOT must address public comments made about the TTC. Please take the opportunity to make your public comments before August 21st. Go to the comments page at KeepTexasMoving.org http://www.keeptexasmoving.org/comments_questions/ttc-35_comments.htm
Or Mail your comment to:
Mr. Ed Pensock, Jr., PE
Director of Turnpike Corridor Systems
Texas Department of Transportation
P.O. Box 14707
Austin, TX 78761-4707
For an eye-opening account of who stands to gain, read “Trans-Texas Corridor paved with campaign contributions?:San Antonio construction company, capital consortium from Spain stand to gain” at http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51023
Barry's blog is the best blog in Wise County! Congradulations on your one year anniversary.
It is a great place for liberals to post. Trolls don't bother us. We just ignore them.
Hope you keep this up. Love the subjects. It is the first blog I read in the morning.
Hell, TTC no! - RTO yes!
RTO - Rock Trucks Only
They need to put in a Rock Truck Only highway and let them follow themselves to see how pissed off we get everyday.
How smart was it of whoever made the decision to make 114 between Tater Junction and the top of the hill a 2 lane with a middle turn lane?
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