Sleazy Staples Campaign Manager Infiltrates Internal Hank Gilbert Conference Call

Cody McGregor, the campaign director for TX Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, apparently got a hold of the phone number for an internal staff call of Democratic challenger Hank Gilbert. Records show a call placed into the line from the same cell phone number used on Texans for Todd Staples press releases. Sounds pretty sleazy to me.

Blog Action Day 2010: Clean Water In The Shale

Water water everywhere nor any drop to drink. Or so the Rime of the Ancient Mariner goes. In North Texas, it proves true for some people.

 

The Barnett Shale area of North Texas, concentrated in Denton, Tarrant, and Wise counties, has been a boom area for natural gas drilling. America's quest for oil independence has lead to the quest for more drills. With more drills comes more pollution.

 

While the gas industry is fully aware of steps it can take to prevent pollution, it fails to do so in Texas. Thanks to an exemption in the national Clean Air & Water acts, gas drilling can not be regulated as much as you would think. And thanks to a Texas government, who simply turns a blind eye to the horror stories of this area, many residents are suffering the consequences.

 

The process by which gas is extracted from shale involves boring into the ground down and then sideways. The well is them pumped with thousands of gallons of water, and more often than not this water also contains a toxic cocktail only the industry really knows about. The pressure fractures the shale ("frack" as it is termed), and the gas is released for extraction.

 

The quest for the cleaner burning fuel, has lead to unregulated industry, who has overlooked the public welfare and is only looking at dollar signs. Not only have dangerous levels of the chemical benzene been found in the air, but ground water has been polluted as well. Hundreds, or even thousands, of people have been affected. Water ells have been poisoned by runoff from gas well production. It is a bad sign when you water smells bad, or is maybe discolored. But it gets far worse when you can set your tap on fire when you turn on the faucet.

 

I worry about these issues a lot. I live in Denton County. Although there are relatively few gas wells near my home, if any at all, the fear that the Texas Railroad Commission and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality will allow someone to set up shop near my house and the source of our drinking water, Lake Lewisville, is frightening. I am an elected board President of a Fresh Water Supply District in Paloma Creek, outside Little Elm, set up to do one main thing—provide clean water services to residents. Once my neighborhood is finished being built, it will have 5000 homes, and we are not the only ones getting our water from the same source.

 

Blog Action Day is all about water around the world. While we do not have it as bad as other places, we still need to worry about our water supply. Conservation and responsible business is key to preserving our future.

Todd Staples TX Dept of Agriculture Responsible For Child's Death

The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal is reporting a case from 2007 that resulted in the death of a Texas child. 2 year old Vantashia Samuels died from the mis application of the toxin Phostoxin on her home in Lubbock. The chemical was meant to kill roaches. Instead, it poisoned an entire family and killed a toddler. The Texas Department of Agriculture could have prevented the situation had it not laid off regulatory field inspectors in order for Commissioner Todd Staples to show a budget surplus in the department. This is just another example of what happens when Republicans look at dollar signs and their own egos, rather than the public good.

Michael Burgess Wants FEMA Help, But Votes Against FEMA Funding

Congressman Michael Burgess’ recent comments bemoaning the failure of the federal government to come to the aid of North Texans to help clean up and repair damage caused by Tropical Storm Hermine are hypocritical because Burgess voted against funding for FEMA disaster relief, Neil Durrance, the Congressman’s opponent in the November 2 election said early Wednesday.

            In a press statement issued by Burgess’ office, the Congressman criticizes the federal government’s lack of assistance and failure to declare a disaster in multiple Texas counties following Hermine, noting, “it is the responsibility of the federal government to aid the state and counties in clean-up and repairing the damage the storm caused.”  

            Durrance said Burgess’ stance is hypocritical because the incumbent Congressman voted against the very aid funding that would help North Texans.

            Burgess voted against $2 billion in funding for FEMA disaster relief, $844 million to operate FEMA, $200 million for FEMA’s Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program, and against $330 million in funding for Emergency Management Performance Grants for state and local government disaster mitigation and preparedness programs. [111^th Congress, Roll Call Vote No. 450, H.R. 2892, June 24, 2009]

            He was one of only 37 congressmen to vote against the bill.

            “I can’t believe that the same Congressman who voted against the funds that would be used for clean-up and repairs in North Texas would now complain about North Texas not getting the funds,” Durrance said. “It’s the case of Dr. Burgess and Mr. Hyde,” he continued.

            Durrance, a former Denton City Councilman and attorney, said Burgess’ behavior was typical of an out-of-touch Washington insider who has been inside the Beltway too long.

            “He’s been in Washington so long he’s forgotten that people back home in the district have access to the Internet and can actually go online and look up his voting record and see that he voted against the very funds he’s complaining about,” Durrance said.

            Durrance said that when he is the District’s Congressman, he’ll work on behalf of North Texans and not simply spring up like a jack-in-the-box any time he feels it will get his name in print.

            “This is a clear cut example of why North Texas needs new leadership in Congress,” Durrance noted. “He says that it is the federal government’s responsibility to help in the event of a disaster, but votes against the very appropriations that make it possible. That’s nothing more than the politics of convenience,” Durrance said.

            “I disagree with the President’s decision not to declare a disaster for the counties affected by Hermine, and I would have never voted against funds that would help the residents and governments of our district recover from a disaster,” Durrance said.