Congress – Carol A. Spencer

Oh, the Irony

Cell phone photo Yesterday, the City of Bastrop Ethics Commission voted unanimously to issue a letter of reprimand against Mayor Lyle Nelson for allegedly “interfering” with an investigation by refusing to turn over his private, personal device data.

Oh, the irony.

This happened at the same time that members of Congress scuttled FISA 702 over the issue of warrantless searches of Americans’ digital data. Our Congressman, Michael Cloud (CD-27), voted against the current iteration of FISA 702, stating “The Constitution is not a set of recommendations or suggestions,” said Rep. Cloud. “It is the limit on our government. Our first job in Congress should be to protect the peoples’ liberties from government intrusion, and allowing for warrantless spying on American citizens is a grave violation of those liberties. This is a red line for me and should not be a partisan issue. If you need to surveil someone, get a warrant.“

Nelson’s lawyer stated “Even as a public official, people have their right to privacy and the minutiae of their private lives are not fair game just because a City Council seeks to pry into their lives.”

No warrant was issued for Nelson’s private device data. While the original allegation was misappropriation of VisitBastrop funds, which are predominantly taxpayer funds, no action has been taken against the former executive director of that organization, the person with the authority to make financial decisions. (In fact, effective January 1, 2024, she officially joined the board of the national DI organization.) Nelson was not a VisitBastrop board member, City Council member or mayor at the time of the allegations.

Based on the Ethics Commission decision, who in their right mind would want to serve on any board or commission in the City? Who would put their name forward knowing that, at any time, the City Council can demand their personal data be provided to an investigator without a warrant; and a refusal to provide that data, demanded without a warrant, would result in a public reprimand or possibly loss of office?

I’ve served on many boards and commissions, both by appointment and by running for office. Luckily, that was prior to the personal proliferation of cell phones. This is why today many elected officials use encryption apps like Signal. Want the password to my Signal account? Get a warrant. Want my personal data? Get a warrant.

The Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution states, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

While a majority of the US Congress stood for the Fourth Amendment yesterday, these City of Bastrop appointees and elected officials chose to ignore it. Oh, the irony.

Be happy!

While the results of the presidential election are still not determined, and the news media has called the race for Democrat Joe Biden, the news across the country for the GOP is excellent. Be happy!

While the results of the presidential election are still not determined, and the news media has called the race for Democrat Joe Biden, the news across the country for the GOP is excellent. Be happy!

Bastrop County GOP swept every contested race in the County. Every GOP candidate won here. Congrats to Mike Gepner on providing the leadership, and hands on work, that a county chairman should. Congrats to Mike and his team on building the network needed to take us forward as a growing county with a growing Republican Party.

Republicans are expected to gain 13 more seats in the US House of Representatives. Current totals are Dems: 215, GOP: 201, Not yet decided: 19. 218 are needed for a majority.

Republicans held all statehouse chambers. And, the GOP gained control of both the NH House and Senate. Redistricting happens after a census year, so in many states, including TX, FL and NC, GOP legislatures will be drawing the maps. Those three states represent more than 80 house seats.

Texans continue to be represented by two Republican US Senators: Senator Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, who handily won re-election. In our own Bastrop County, both Congressman Michael McCaul (CD-10) and Congressman Michael Cloud (CD-27) won re-election.

Let’s talk Texas:

All statewide positions stayed with the GOP.
Nearly all judicial positions remained in GOP hands.
The Texas House continues with a GOP majority: the same split as it had in the 2019 session (83 GOP to 67 Dems).
The Texas Senate continues with a GOP majority. We lost the super majority by one seat, but kept the split nearly what it was in the 2019 session. (19 GOP to 12 Dems in 2019; now 18 GOP to 13 Dems)
Overall, Texas did not lose one GOP Congressional seat and is poised to pick up two, or possibly three, additional seats due to the census. With both the Texas House and Senate firmly in GOP hands, and a Republican governor, the redistricting map, including those two new Congressional districts, will be drawn by the GOP.

There is much to celebrate for the GOP both in Texas and nationwide. Be happy!

Put the blame where it belongs… on Democrats

Since 1945 when Hubert Humphrey became mayor of Minneapolis, for only 2 years and one day have Republicans led the city. Independents led the city for another 6 years.

Since 1945, seventy-five years, Democrats have controlled Minneapolis with the exception of a total of 8 years and one day.

Yet, today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blamed the death of George Floyd on Republicans.

“On Tuesday, as Senate Democrats rejected Sen. Tim Scott’s (R-S.C.) police reform bill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) accused Republicans of ‘trying to get away with murder, the murder of George Floyd.'” (pjmedia.com)

Just let that sit for a minute. Almost 70 years of Democrat mayors and Pelosi blames Republicans.

Who appointed police chiefs throughout those 65+ years? Democrats
Who approved the size and organizational structure of the police department throughout those 65+ years? Democrats
Who approved police “standard operating procedures” (SOPs) throughout those 65+ years? Democrats
Who hired police officers throughout those 65+ years? Democrats
Who interviewed police officers for advancement and promotion throughout those 65+ years? Democrats
Who supervised police training throughout those 65+ years? Democrats
Who disciplined police officers throughout those 65+ years? Democrats
Who reviewed their personnel jackets when determining who was eligible for promotion? Democrats
Who negotiated police contracts? Democrats

The Federal government does not appoint mayors or council members. Local voters elect them. The Federal government does not hire police chiefs, dictate SOPs, hire or fire police officers, determine the use of community policing, number of officers on the road at any point in time, or any other aspect of the organization and policies of police departments. Local elected officials and their administrative hires do.

In Minneapolis, Democrats did. Now, Democrat Pelosi tries to shift the blame. Democrat Pelosi says the proposed Federal legislation doesn’t go far enough, even though the Federal government has no role here.

Democrats have created these problems through feckless leadership over 65+ years. Democrats are the problem today, watching their city burn and doing nothing. Democrats in Washington continue to be the problem today, now blocking Federal legislation.

Hold Democrats accountable because they are.

Stat source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mayors_of_Minneapolis.

War Profiteers

I’ve thought about writing a series of blog posts about how it feels to be self-quarantining. On Friday, March 13, we had our last dinner in a restaurant and, thankfully, it was with family. Over the course of the day, I went from considering whether to take (what seemed to me at the time) drastic measures to deciding that it was imperative to take such measures.

On Saturday, I cancelled Lost Pines Republican Women events, did our weekly grocery shopping online, filled up our cars with gas, ordered some puzzles and thought about what we’d do to fill our time.

Today, I get up to this news: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8132245/GOP-senator-gave-dire-coronavirus-warning-heeled-constituents-Capitol-Hill-social-club.html

To quote from the Daily Mail article:

Richard Burr, head of the Senate Intelligence Committee which was directly briefed on coronavirus, sold up to $1.7m in stock between January and February
Dianne Feinstein, on the same committee, sold up to $6m in stock in same period
Kelly Loeffler, on the Senate Health Committee, sold up to $3.1m in stock starting on the day her committee was briefed by the CDC
James Inhofe sold up to $400k in stocks including real estate all on January 27

Market Downturn Graph Outraged is an understatement. Every day Americans are watching their IRAs and 401Ks, life savings, plummet. With the economy shutting down, it’s clearly going to get worse before it gets better.

Let me be perfectly clear: I believe in the strength of the American economy. It will come back. It always has. I believe there will be a shift in how we conduct business. There will be new winners, definitely losers. And, as I was taught by my dad, you don’t lose unless you actually sell.

But all that being said, profiteering with insider knowledge has been going on for a long time and we turned a blind eye. So some of this is our fault. But this is a war against an invisible virus. And, elected officials who do this are war profiteers.

I’d really like to see a year-long timeline of trades in these people’s “blind trusts”. If their investment managers were trading all the time at the multi-million dollar level, I’ll give them a pass. If they’ve traded hospitality and drug stocks multiple times over that year, I’ll give them a pass. If they immediately re-invested all those proceeds into a variety of industry sectors in the stock market, I’ll give them a pass.

But, if they’re long term investors and rarely trade, then all of a sudden are dumping airline or hospitality stocks and buying up online delivery stocks, health stocks, or tech stocks, then the Attorney General and the SEC should immediately open investigations. If they violated insider trading laws, they should resign and be charged (think Martha Stewart). If they violated no laws, then we need some to stop elected officials from being able to profit from insider knowledge.

It’s an outrage that elected officials profit on this pandemic while the rest of us (peons) watch our net worth collapse. That’s nothing short of war profiteering.

We don’t want a CAVE. We want a WALL.

This morning, I wrote my congressman and the White House. You should too. Here are the web addresses and what I wrote:

The White House
Congressman Michael Cloud (CD-27)
Congressman Michael McCaul (CD-10)

To Congressman Michael Cloud:
Trump can’t cave on this. YOU can’t cave on this. DO NOT vote for a CR that doesn’t include at least 1/2 of what Trump needs for the “wall”. Any rational person knows the “wall” includes technological efforts as well as a physical wall where possible. Any rational person knows Mexico was never going to outright pay for the wall, but the reduction in immigration costs for those coming in through that country would pay for it, an improvement in balance of trade would pay for it…. Republican messaging is horrible and never says that. But, we NEED the wall. TRUMP needs the wall or he’ll lose his base. He’ll be likened to GWB about whom many only remember “Read my lips…” and then HE caved. We voted for Trump to clean that swamp, to do what he says he’ll do, and for you to back him up. I’ll support him, and you, as vociferously as possible if he does what he said he would do. Those of us with children know the most important thing we can do is to MEAN WHAT WE SAY, to DO what we said we would do. TRUST falls if that doesn’t happen. Pelosi and Schumer will run the show from now to 2020 if Trump and the House cave on this. Thank you, and Merry Christmas to all of you.

To President Trump via The White House:
We DO NOT WANT A CAVE. We WANT A WALL. Messaging is critical. Of course a wall isn’t always a physical wall but also a technological wall. Of course Mexico isn’t going to pay outright dollars but through lower costs of illegals entering the US and in balance of trade. Republican messaging stinks, but the FACT is that we need the wall. We need you to STAND STRONG. We voted for you to get something different, your business acumen. Please don’t be GWB who is remembered for “Read my lips…” and then caving. Please!!!

“No Borders. No Walls.” Incrementalism

While President Trump is being slammed for separating mothers and children, it’s important to take a step back and remember historically how we got here, and it was not President Trump that brought us to this point.

In 1997, it was Democrat President Bill Clinton’s court settlement in the Flores case that set a 20 day limit on detaining children who illegally enter our country.

It was a court order in July 2015 that slammed the Democrat Obama Administration’s immigration policies on family detention, and applied that 1997 decision to children who enter with or without parents.

It was then 120+ Democrat legislators who, in 2015, penned a letter to President Obama, demanding the FAMILY facilities be closed .

While President Trump may have (finally) decided to treat illegals as illegals to stop the inflow of illegals, he wasn’t involved in any of the prior decisions that now cause parents and children to be separated.

Congress could have fixed this problem any time they wanted: when they had both houses and the presidency during the Obama Administration, or while they had both houses and the presidency during the Trump Administration. But many in Congress don’t want to; the optics against President Trump are just too good to pass up by the “Never Trumpers” on both sides of the aisle.

And, once again, the operative word is ILLEGAL. Every day, parents are separated from their children if they are a mom or dad and are arrested for doing something ILLEGAL.

Perhaps under President Trump’s “let’s get it done” leadership, Congress will finally act to fix all this, but I doubt it. Listening to Chucky Cheese Schumer, he has no intention of doing so. He had no intention of fixing DACA either, and those brought here as children still linger in limbo. The Democrat Socialists of America use the optics to creep closer to their goal of “No border. No walls. Sanctuary for all.”

The optics of both of these make such nice issues for Dems to use in their campaigns. They’re users, not problem solvers. That’s why pragmatist, solution-seeking, “Art of the Deal” President Trump scares them so much and they’ll do anything to get rid of him. And, it’s why the American public likes him so much and wants the swamp drained of obstructionists.