that would be us citizens
In anticipation of a “best of”post this New Years Day, recapping our work in 2015, we reviewed the hundreds of posts (approaching a thousand) we published. As regular readers might well imagine given our never varying, incredibly thoughtful always timely posts it would be impossible to select either the most important events commented on or the superiority of any analysis offered. OK, leaving the two quite different interpretations of our problem aside, deciding between equally bad or equally good, we concede the real reason is that we don’t like doing them and other activity awaits (Go Hawks).
But we are not adverse to linking you to a couple of “best of” best of recaps. Such recaps can be fulfilling from sites you wish you had time to visit every day.
Hope’NChange Cartoons written by Stilton Jarlsberg is one such site as it not only captures liberals with sardonic delight in cartoons but the accompanying essays stand alone with wit and insight.
Note that while Jarlsberg provides a summation of his favorites for each month of the year, the essays that are apart of the original post flesh out the situation more.
Watchdog.org is an organization whose work we applaud and have referred to in our posts this year. Their focus is exposing government corruption and incompetency. As you can guess their work is extensive with chapters in most states, and endless.
Their recap is titled Watchdog’s Scariest People of 2015 . It provides a selection from their yearlong expose’s of state and federal political corruption, malfeasances, misfeasances and nonfeasance. The one we found particularly notable was their number one selection as well. It is about the Speaker of the House in Texas. Readers should be aware that the Speaker position in Texas is said to hold more power than the Governor. Set forth below for special analysis (please review their entire selection) we ask readers to ponder if there are any similarities to the ways of Speaker of the House Paul Ryan or John Boehner, who also “governed” on key matters not with a majority of Republicans, but with Democrats? Bold emphasis ours.
Watchdog’s Scariest People of 2015: No. 1
All week we’ve highlighted the most egregious examples of nanny statism, overweening bureaucracy and just plain old bad government from the past 12 months, encompassing local, state and federal officialdom.
The Scariest People of 2015 is a frightening list indeed, filled with bureaucrats and functionaries who, shall we say, do not share an affinity for liberty.
But the No. 1 name on the list holds a special place in the annals of bad governance and betrayal of conservative principles.
Is anyone scarier for small-government, free-market conservatives than a Republican leader with a left-wing power base?
In the Texas Legislature, where the GOP enjoys a nominal super-majority, House Speaker Joe Straus runs a powerful political machine that blocks school choice, protects labor unions and generally grates on conservatives.
While Straus curries favor with minority Democratic lawmakers to keep himself in power, the Alamo Heights Republican relegates conservatives to marginal committees and their legislation goes nowhere.
Straus says he “works with all sides.” Indeed, he anointed far-left Democrat Garnet Coleman to chair the House County Affairs Committee, where Coleman recently grilled sheriffs about their alleged “racial profiling,” using talking points ripped from the #BlackLivesMatter campaign.
Considered the most liberal member of the House, Coleman is a member of the Straus leadership team.
Straus rewards compliant Republicans with key sinecures to block free-market legislation.
“While 99 percent of political contributions from unions are given to Democrats, the largest Republican recipients in Texas are Straus and his chief lieutenant Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth,” explains Empower Texans, a conservative activist group. “That explains why the Paycheck Protection bill (SB 1968) passed by the Senate was ultimately killed by Straus’ favorite reform-killer, State Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Byron Cook, R-Corsicana.”
Similarly, school-choice measures the Senate passed are routinely derailed in Straus’ House. Backed by San Antonio grocery mogul Charles Butt, Straus acolytes were in the bag for their leader.
Even the state’s supposedly independent Ethics Commission fronts for Straus, as it dogs conservative activists and perceived political enemies with threats of fines or indictments.
Wallace Hall, a University of Texas regent and open-government advocate, said Straus questioned his business ethics – “and he never even met me. He never called me once.”
Hall, an appointee of then-Gov. Rick Perry, said a state investigation into his background “was all directed by Joe Straus.”
“Boards cannot be effective if politicians continue to intimidate them,” Hall said.
One more “makes us mad” recap is this anthology from The Daily Caller.
The Daily Caller Presents: The Biggest, Dumbest Race Hoaxes And Fake Hate Crimes On Campus In 2015
Ah yes, the millennials. Situation well in hand America.
