Tag Archives: texas

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Global Food Crisis: Where’s the beef? Texas drought killing the cattle industry

“Consumers are going to pay more because we’re going to have less beef. Fewer cows, calves, less beef production and increasing [demand for] exports.”-David Anderson, Texas AgriLife Extension Service

Texas is officially suffering its worst drought ever!  The decline in cows just more proof.

Texas is now seeing the biggest drop in cattle since the U.S. Great Depression in 1930s.  This year they lost more than 600,000 cattle.  Not all to death directly caused by drought, or early slaughter, some were moved out of state to, literally, greener pastures.

It’s not just Texas, but Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana and Arkansas also saw an increase in loss of cattle due to drought.

This past year beef prices for U.S. consumers went up 9%. The USDA predicts another 5.5% increase for 2012.

 

 

Business/Economics, U.S.

Contractor Incompetence: 14 bomb sniffing dogs suffocated in an unventilated truck at the Houston airport

A U.S. military contractor is suing two Texas companies for killing 14 bomb sniffing dogs.  The dogs were supposed to be shipped to U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

The two companies being sued are Indian Creek Enterprises Incorporated and Live Animal Transportation Services.

The military contractor said the dogs were supposed to have been put in the Houston airport’s kennel, because their flight was canceled.  Instead the transportation contractors left the dogs locked in a sealed, unventilated truck.  On December 21, 2010, the military contractor checked on the dogs, only to discover them in the truck, all dead.

There was blood and other evidence that the dogs tried to get out.

Texas media can not get a hold of the owners of Indian Creek Enterprises Incorporated.  The other contractor, Live Animal Transportation Services, has a new owner who basically says this is the first he’s heard of it.

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

Government Incompetence: Mafia Medicare deadline nears, but applications aren’t getting through, if you don’t sign up when you turn 65 you’ll pay for it!

“Some people had difficulty accessing the [Medicare] online enrollment center. Others have not had calls returned due to high call volume.”-Bill Deal, Idaho Department of Insurance

Midnight (00:00 hours) December 8 is the deadline for the elderly getting Medicare applications in, yet many are not going through.  Idaho officials are reporting that phone in enrollments are overwhelming their system.  For those people they will now have until December 10 to enroll.

“We’re seeing various people who delayed enrollment into Medicare for various reasons.”-Frederic Riccardi, Medicare Rights Center

And if you don’t think you need to sign up for Medicare, even though you’ve just turned 65, you’re going to pay for it later on.  Medicare actually penalizes you for not signing up when you become 65 years old.

For those people who enroll in Medicare after their 65th birthday, the government will increase your Medicare premiums by 10% for each year you delay enrollment!

If you’re still a “current” employee, then you don’t need to, but the instant you lose your job you better do it. And you can’t trust Social Security officials to tell you, or even the Medicare handbook, as one man learned the hard way: “On my last day of work, I went to the Social Security office, asking for some guidance.”  “I’ve never had a problem, until I tried to sign up for Medicare.” -Robert Joseph

Joseph lost his job after he turned 65.  Because of bad advise from a local Texas Social Security official, and because he misinterpreted instructions in a Medicare handbook, he waited 18 months after losing his job to enroll.  Now he’s paying a higher monthly premium because of those 18 months he waited!

Medicare is not ‘free’.  You pay for it with the FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act) taxes that are taken out of your paycheck.  Then you pay again when you enroll at the age of 65, in the form of Medicare insurance premiums.  And guess what?  You still have to pay out of your pocket for some of your medical care!  Sounds like the Mob is runin’ da joint!

Business/Economics, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Texas mom shoots kids then self after being denied food stamps, part of increasing trend in Texas due to bad economy

On December 6, a Texas mom shot her two kids, and then herself inside a Laredo social services office, after being denied food stamps.  She had been applying since July!

Officials say she didn’t provide enough documentation!  Her two kids, a 10-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl, are in critical condition, she’s dead.  The woman had moved to Texas after losing her job in Ohio. This is not the first shooting in Texas related to the bad economy.

On November 30, in Bay City, Texas, an illegal immigrant shot the mother of his children, and then killed all four children, in front of neighbors.  One neighbor said the man had just lost his job at a local grocery store: “He worked nights and all of a sudden he was having trouble with his family. I knew the guy, but I didn’t know he would do something like this.”-Juan Elizondo, daughter witnessed the shootings

The shooter had been deported before, and there’s speculation that fear of being deported again could have played apart: “She was scared she didn’t have papers, that he didn’t have papers. They were both scared that they were going to get deported.”-Juan Elizondo

 

 

Business/Economics, U.S.

Occupy America! Where are the 1%? California, New York, Texas, Florida & Illinois

So just where do the 1% of the richest people in the United States live?

According to Wealth-X, California is number one, followed by New York, Texas, Florida and Illinois.

10,390 UHNW (ultra high net worth) individuals officially live in California.  8,215 in New York, 5,550 in Texas, 3,615 in Florida and 2,680 in Illinois.  These top five home states of the 1% represent at least 50% of the wealth in the United States!

Business/Economics, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? So much for christian Rick Perry’s job creation record: Texas lays off nearly 1,000 teachers

September 29, according to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, last month Texas fired 900 people from education related jobs.

It’s part of the U.S.$4 billion in cuts to Texas public schools, that Governor Rick Perry approved this year!

As an example of how bad it’s getting in Texas; near Austin, two newly built schools are empty this year because the Leander school district can’t afford to put teachers in them.

 

Business/Economics, U.S.

False christian Rick Perry a Poverty Miser?

“There are parts of Texas that are doing well. And there is a tremendous number of Texans, more than Perry has ever wanted to acknowledge, that are doing very, very poorly.”-Miguel Ferguson, University of Texas

Texas Governor Rick Perry likes to claim having created jobs for Texans, but he’s also to blame for increasing the poverty rate!

In the past two years Texas has created 40% of new U.S. jobs, but also has the fastest growing poverty rate in the whole country. That means most of those new jobs are not paying enough to cover the basic cost of living.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics about 550,000 workers last year were paid at, or even below, the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour!

According to the U.S. Census Bureau the national average poverty rate is 15.1%, and as of 2010 the poverty rate in Texas is 18.4%.

The main reason for the poverty; Perry’s so called job creation isn’t happening fast enough: “The middle class are losing their jobs and are not able to replace them fast enough. That’s driving them straight into poverty.”-Bradley Manning, Texas Neighborhood Services

To make matters worse, Texas has one of the worst social service programs in the country: “We don’t have the support system in place to provide economic support or economic opportunity to help families lift themselves out of poverty.” said Frances Deviney, Center for Public Policy Priorities

 

U.S.

United Police States of America: Texas school cop hunts down and kills unarmed student, who was hiding for his life

“He never followed orders. What makes you think he can deal with children?”-Mother of murdered student, talking about renegade school cop

The mother of an unarmed 14 year old boy killed after a Northside Independent School District of San Antonio, Texas, school cop chased him off school property and shot him, is now demanding justice.

The boy ran after he hit another student.  The 14 year old had a history of trouble at the school, but so did the renegade cop.

Police dispatch recordings show the school cop was ordered NOT to chase the 14 year old.  He ignored the orders and chased the boy off school property, into a garden shed behind a home, and killed him.

The cop claimed the boy lunged at him, and he shot at close range in self defense.  The autopsy showed the boy was NOT shot at close range.

The cop has a long record of getting into trouble himself: 16 reprimands in four years!  Suspended WITHOUT pay five times!

Here’s the amazing thing; the police department wanted to fire the renegade cop, but the Northside Independent School District fought to keep the cop in their schools!

The mother of the boy is now suing for civil rights violations, supervisory liability and negligence.

 

 

U.S.

Finally, Texans are wondering where their Christian governor Rick Perry has gone to, while they burn in hell

September 9, some Texans yelled at Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst when he visited hard hit Bastrop County, asking where Perry is and why they haven’t had any help!

Why ‘christian’ Rick Perry is out campaigning for President of the United States, don’t they know?

Nearly 1,400 homes have been destroyed by fire in Bastrop County alone.

Perry did issue a response through his office: “…everything that needs to be done to respond to these fires is being done.”

Do we really want Rick Perry as President of the United States?

U.S.

United Police States of America: Audience cheers Christian governor Rick Perry’s Texas execution record, support the fight against these false christians

On September 7, moderator Brian Williams opened up a question for Governor Perry by first reminding him that his state has executed 234 men under his watch, a bodycount much greater than any other governor, but before Williams could get to his question, the crowd broke into applause to laud Perry for his accomplishment.

“Have you struggled to sleep at night with the idea that any one of those might have been innocent?” Williams asked Perry.

“No sir,” responded the ‘christian’ governor Rick Perry, “I’ve never struggled with that at all.”

Now realize that Texas has executed innocent people!  Which makes these Texas ‘christians’ even more sick in the head!

Other Texans are going to make sure everyone knows that innocent people have been executed under ‘christian’ Rick Perry’s watch:  The 12th Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty is October 22, in Austin at the Texas Capitol.