Author: carol@stormzero.com

Many government entities prohibit employees from receiving money or other goods from anyone. I worked for one of those. If someone brought our office cookies for Christmas, we were not allowed to accept them. When mayor, I couldn’t buy lunch for another government employee because they couldn’t accept a “gift”. Yet, Joe Biden and his family received millions from foreign governments, let alone US constituents.

IMHO, this is treason, meaning Joe Biden should immediately be removed from office and tried for his crimes. We cannot trust that decisions are being made in the interest of the US when foreign monies are moving in and out of the President’s family.

#FollowTheMoney, always, when investigating political corruption. Always.

In Texas, elections for school board, mayors or city council are “non-partisan”.

What successful candidate doesn’t bring their overall philosophy of governance and their core values to an elected office? None. Elected officials bring who they are, and who they are is based on their experiences and beliefs.

Do they follow the law? Of course (constituents sure hope so). Do they fight for change where they believe it is needed, advocating for legislative changes? If they do that, and I’d expect they would, then no race is non-partisan. Our beliefs draw us to a particular political party so those things we would advocate for are, logically, partisan.

In Bastrop County, more than 60% of each property tax dollar goes to the schools. So why is voter turnout so low? It could be because it’s hard to find information about the candidates.

Early voting starts Monday and I’ve not received one political mailer for any Bastrop ISD candidate or the bond issue. (I live in that jurisdiction.)

I did some research and I hope it helps you. I’ve listed the position, candidate, year they registered to vote, and which party’s primary they voted in since 2012. I did not include general election votes as they are not an indicator of philosophical party alignment. The comments under Voter History are mine based on the voting history provided.

Search Facebook, Instagram, and the web for candidate information. For example, a search of Lyle Nelson Mayor returns this FB page: https://www.facebook.com/nelsonforbastropmayor. I leave it to you to research the candidates for whom you’ll be voting.

Bond issues? Here’s where to find the information on those: Bastrop ISD, Lexington ISD, McDade ISD, Wildwood Municipal Utility District.

One last thought: You can view your sample ballot at BastropVotes.org. Viewing this in advance will help you be prepared when you vote.

Early voting starts 4/24. Election day is Saturday 5/6. Where to vote.

BASTROP

SMITHVILLE

ELGIN

On February 9, 2023, Tulsi Gabbard gave this compelling testimony before Congress. It’s a must see for every American. In 16 minutes, Tulsi makes the case for the importance of these committees looking into the weaponization of our government against us.

Unfortunately, none of the main stream media is covering any part of these hearings. They are on C-Span, live, but few have the luxury of time to tune in. So, here’s the 16 minute video to watch to understand the importance and impact of these hearings.

Did you know that Texas REPUBLICAN legislators often vote for DEMOCRATS as committee chairs? Shocked? I was when I found out this was a common practice.

According to Jill Glover, Texas GOP Legislative Priorities Chair, “In the Republican primary in March 2022, 81.24% of close to two million (1,850.020) voters agreed that the practice of awarding chairmanships to Democrats, when Republicans hold the majority, should end. At our RPT state convention in June, our state delegates chose this issue one of the top eight priorities for this legislative session.”

How can this happen, you ask? It happens because Dade Phelan (and to be honest, some past TX House Speakers) wants it to. It gives him and other legislators cover for GOP priorities not being accomplished. They can claim legislation didn’t make it through committee, but if you’re not a political junkie, you probably don’t realize that’s because a Democrat committee chair wouldn’t give a Republican legislative priority bill a hearing.

Dade Phelan, Speaker of the TX House, gives out money like it’s candy. See the list of recipients of thousands of dollars of campaign contributions. (Source: Texas Ethics Commission)

Where did Dade Phelan get so much money to dole out? See the list of donors to Dade Phelan over the last 2 years. (Source: Texas Ethics Commission)

Yes, to get elected a candidate needs money. But, there’s a fine line between just accepting contributions and accepting contributions and then awarding the donor preferential access or worse, a vote. It’s a very strong legislator who can accept thousands of dollars from a contributor, and then look that person in the eye and say “I’m not voting with you on this one.”

Some candidates realize it takes both to get elected: money and voters. Those office holders also realize the equal value of each. You can’t get votes without money, but you also won’t get money if you can’t get re-elected.

That’s what creates the “go-along to get-along” mentality. Buck the powers-that-be too often or on issues they think are important, and the money doesn’t flow. Nor do the plum committee appointments. Buck the voters and you’ll not win re-election.

This is why candidates like Donald Trump are so threatening to legislative leadership. He doesn’t owe his position to them. They can’t call the shots. He can call the shots because he isn’t beholden to them.

But self-funders are few and far between, so the indebtedness of our legislators to those who can hand out valuable campaign contributions grows and grows. Power becomes more centralized. Democrats get elected by GOP members to chair critical committees.

And, who loses? The GOP voters who put these people in office, yet don’t see their priorities come to fruition, in fact, often never heard at all.

In Bastrop County, our Texas House member-elect is Stan Gerdes. Email him. He won the GOP primary over others who vowed not to vote for Democrat committee chairs. Let him know your opinion on this and that you will be watching.

Recently, an organization published a warning to voters to check and double check your selections before depositing your ballot in the “ballot box”, better known as the scanner. I agree.

But what that article failed to do was tell you what to do if your printed ballot doesn’t reflect your wishes. Changes can be made, but they must be made before the ballot is placed in the scanner and counted.

CHECK YOUR CHOICES
As you vote and before you move to the next page on the screen, if you have not made a selection an a race, the ballot-printing machine will notify you that you still have choices to make. You can go back, or if you intended to skip that race, you can move on.

Once you have made all your selections, the ballot-printing machine will provide you with a review of all those choices. Again, you can go back to any race, change your selection, and return to the review.

Your final action on the ballot-printing machines will be to actually print your ballot. Review it again. If it’s right, place it in the scanner to be counted. If it isn’t right, you can still fix it!

GETTING IT RIGHT
All you have to do is notify the Election Judge before you scan your ballot, that you need to vote again. The election judge will “spoil” that ballot and give you another. The “spoiled ballot” will be logged, voided, and placed in an envelope with other spoiled ballots.

There are other reasons for spoiled ballots. Sometimes the bar codes don’t print properly and can’t be read by the scanner. I witnessed that while working as an Elections Clerk.

SCANNING IS FINAL
It’s all well and good to remind people to check their ballots at every step in the process. But, it’s even more important to let people know what to do if there is a problem. Pretty much anything can be rectified before that ballot is scanned. Once it’s scanned and counted, though, it cannot be retrieved. Happy voting!!

One added point: the posting in questions says the voter spoke to a “poll watcher” and also recommends you speak to a “poll watcher” if you have a problem. Don’t do it. Poll watchers cannot speak to voters. That’s a violation of Texas law. Speak to the election judge if you have a concern.

I am sickened by the Alex Jones “punishment”, the demand by the Sandy Hook families for a huge punitive judgement.

Go ahead, call me all the names you want because you think my first sentence is one supporting Alex Jones. Are you done? Well, you’re wrong.

No, I’m sickened because I was once awarded a settlement for a family member being severely injured. That was many years ago and I still remember the nausea-generating feeling of receiving money because of something horrible happening to a family member.

Alex Jones won’t be ruined by this. He’ll just build something new, recreate his “Infowars” under some other name, and while he might be tempered in his commentary as a result, he’ll move on.

Will they? Will the families? Will this monetary judgement assuage their hurt and their anger? Will it help them “move on”?

I doubt it. The lawyers will get rich and move to the next case. But those who lost children? It won’t ease the pain.

I gave whatever monies I received to charities. I couldn’t keep it. I couldn’t imagine spending monies gained because my loved one suffered. Maybe that’s just me. But, I have a feeling it’ll be those parents too, who in the quiet moments enjoying their newfound richness, will still yearn for the return of their child. I have a feeling in the quiet moments, they’d give it all back for more time with their loved one.

That’s why I’m sickened. It won’t change anything at all. The lawyers will be a bit richer, but the parents? They’ll cry for years and years, probably their entire lives, just as I cry writing this so many years later.

Elections In General

There are those who think elections are all alike. But all elections are not created equal, and therefore the decision-making process is different.

Here in Texas, city council and school board are considered “non-partisan“, encouraging voters to pick whomever they think most closely reflects what they want those governing bodies to do.

Then, there are the party primaries. A primary election is to choose the individual who will represent your party in the general election. Allegedly, only members of the party get to pick their general-election candidate. Not so in open primary states of which Texas is one. (The issue of “open” primaries will be the subject of another blog post.)

Last, there are the general elections where voters get to pick between the chosen candidates of each party.

I’ve always taken the position that when the primary is over, it’s over. The party voters chose their candidate, and if it’s not my candidate (or when a candidate, not me personally), then I support the winner of my party’s primary. Why? Because when I go through the “general election” analysis, I always come down on the side of the Republican candidate.

But, you ask, what about third party or Independent candidates? There are several on our ballot. While it might be enticing to vote for one of them, that vote is one not cast for a Republican. Ross Perot gave us Bill Clinton. Need I say more?

Luke macias discusses this issue

Here’s a great podcast from Luke Macias of Texas Scorecard on this subject:

How i analyze & decide

My first question always is “How closely does this candidate represent my views on major issues?”

My second question, specifically for legislative candidates, is “How will this candidate vote once in office?” That’s a completely different question than the first. Once elected, legislators are pressured by members of their caucus, by leadership, by lobbyists, and often don’t agree with much of what’s in a bill, but agree with some, meaning they vote by a scale of what they can live with and defend in public.

For example, if you’re angry about the trans issue being forced on our young children, how could you possibly vote for a trans candidate, no matter what they say on the campaign trail on any other issue (Madeline Eden)? They’d never vote against themselves.

If you are a law abiding gun owner, how could you possibly vote for a candidate who says “Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47”, no matter what they say on the campaign trail on any other issue (Beto O’Rourke)? They’ll vote for “buy back”, another term for confiscation.

If you worry about illegal and dangerous fentanyl pouring over our borders, how could you possibly vote for a candidate who supports open borders, government payment for illegal immigrant teen abortions, and who served as a staff attorney for the ACLU, no matter what they say on the campaign trail on any other issue (Rochelle Garza)? They’ll vote pro-immigrant, which with what’s happening today, translates all too often to anti-citizen.

If you can’t pay your bills because food is skyrocketing, electricity is far higher than last summer, gas just to get to work or diesel needed to work is taking a huge chunk of your income, how could you possibly vote for a candidate (any Democrat because they’ll caucus with Nancy Pelosi) who supports out of control government spending? They’ll vote with the caucus, as evidenced by Joe Manchin who caved for a promise that never materialized. He got screwed by his own party, and his constituents got screwed by his cowardice.

It doesn’t take much research – a few Duck-Duck-Go search entries -to find out what candidates have said about a variety of issues. Read their comments, believe them, and vote for the person who most closely aligns with your own beliefs.