With Impunity
I’m sure you all remember about the mess of money-grubbing and fancy pants horse thievery going on with the Texas Agriculture Commissioner, Republican Sid ByGawd Miller.
Ole Sid is using taxpayer money to fund his rodeo addiction, overeating, and weird-butt pain relievers.
The [Houston] Chronicle reported that Miller had spent $1,120 in taxpayer money on the February 2015 trip to Oklahoma and that his office had said the trip was for meetings that in reality never took place. The Chronicle also reported that Miller had used state and campaign money on a trip to Mississippi in which he competed in a rodeo and won $880 in prize money.
He also charged the taxpayers for his “Jesus shot” painkiller in Oklahoma.
Well ….
The Travis County District Attorney’s Office has begun reviewing the findings of a criminal investigation into Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller’s travel, a top prosecutor said Friday.
“We received the investigation (from the Texas Department of Public Safety) earlier this week,” said the prosecutor, Gregg Cox, the head of Travis County’s Public Integrity Unit. “It is under review.”
Here’s how this works. He gets indicted. He screams that the “liberal” Travis County DA is picking on him. He goes to trial. He loses. He screams that the liberal Travis County jury did this awful thing to him because he loves Jesus. He appeals. The conservative appeals court grants the appeal after about 3 years. Meanwhile, Sid stays in office because he’s a conservative legend because liberals are picking on him.
And that right there is Texas justice!
Ah, but did he do something truly evil, like have a private e-mail account?
12 questions
1. Did he get his Jesus shot before or after the rodeo?
2. Did he pay taxes on his $880.00 winnings?
Inquiring minds want to know.
2JJ, I had to really go to combat with my gut reaction to old Sid being appointed a co-chair ag advisor to Trump! Right now the Cheetos presidential nominee has about 30 and is going to appoint even more co-chairs. All this chiefs, and no indians. Well, it won’t do Trump or Sid any good as the way out is the way down!
3Thieves
4He must think that white hat makes him a good guy. He’s a fool and that hat just don’t sit right on his fat head.
5Having a private e-mail account is only bad if you are a Democrat.
Engaging in adultery is bad only for Dems.
It dawned on me that if HRC selects justices, that means she won the election and Drumpf’s assertions he was only calling out the hit squad to vote is baloney. Of course if they did vote after the election and their votes aren’t counted, that means the election was rigged to favor HRC.
6JJ, you keep using this same picture of Sid. Are all the others mug shots?
7Wash, rinse, repeat.
8I’m surprised that his shafting of the taxpayers is even being reviewed, since he’s a Texas snacilbupeR.
Take a moment to contemplate the reaction if a Democrat wasted tax money on him/herself that way. I could hear the squealing all the way up here in (hot and humid as ****) Maryland.
9Any ordinary state employee who gets convicted is dropped like a hot potato. But if you’re a Texas Repugnicant you get to stay in office and draw your pay pending appeals. Poor people get convicted and go to jail without passing Go or collecting $200. People with money get to stay out pending appeal. That’s called equal treatment under the law.
10I used to account for corporate expense money, vouchers, purchasing, lodging, etc., in the course of my job. I had to document things, verify them, attest to them; one could get in a lot of hot water if something wasn’t right.
These Repukes are apparently subject to different rules, eh?
.
As a matter of fact, I just renewed my TX boat registration, here’s something that I had to “attest” to (I C&P’ed the text, below), under some pretty severe-sounding penalties (just for maybe making a simple error too?):
(from TPWD website)
“Legal Notice
I hereby certify that all statements in this document are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief and I am the legal owner or have the consent of the legal owner to conduct the requested transactions for the boat(s) in which registration will be renewed.
WARNING: Falsifying information on documents is a punishable offense – Texas Penal Code Chapter 37, Section 37.10. Any person who knowingly makes a false entry in, or false alteration of a governmental record is guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable by confinement in jail for any term of not more than 10 years or less than 2 years and punishable by a fine not to exceed $10,000.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department maintains the information collected through this form. With few exceptions, you are entitled to be informed about the information we collect. Under Sections 552.021 and 552.023 of the Texas Government Code, you are also entitled to receive and review the information. Under Section 559.004, you are also entitled to have this information corrected.
”
.
“WARNING: Falsifying information on documents is a punishable offense – Texas Penal Code Chapter 37, Section 37.10.” apparently does not apply to Repukes like good ol’ TXAC Sid Miller, now does it?
Surely, when he signs a transportation, meal, lodging, or other expense receipt (credit card or whatever) while sashaying around the country, he is attesting (IIRC, a legal term with clout) that those expenses are for a legitimate purpose on behalf of the citizens of Texas, whom he purportedly represents by proxy?
11Did I get something wrong here in my understanding, based on past experience, of accounting for funds that aren’t actually your own personal money?
.
If I, or anyone else, might get a nice reservation at the Greybar Resort for violating that lil’ ol’ TGC statute “Texas Penal Code Chapter 37, Section 37.10”, why doesn’t good ol’ Sid get one????
I’m sure he would enjoy his stay immensely, mercy ‘Jeebus shots’ could be arranged on a hardship basis, and I hear that a form of ‘bronco busting-riding’ is common in the Greybar, he’d jes luv it.
.
Lady Justice, Iustitia, surely weeps like never before…but IOKIYAR.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Justice
Rhea, ” I could hear the squealing all the way up here in (hot and humid as ****) Maryland.”
12.
I doubt y’all in MD really ‘know’ what ‘hot and humid’ is. Is it 104 degrees w/85-98% humidity up there? Didn’t think so…;]
(That makes the “heat index” something like 1800 degrees…)
Sandridge, at the moment it’s “only” 95° (down from 100°), with a dew point of 76°, which “feels like” 107°. But I don’t have the humidity figures on yesterday, which was worse and 101°. And last night when I had to go out to inject a client’s diabetic cat at about 10 PM, it was still 86° and so humid that I was dripping less than a minute after I walked outside.
If this ain’t hot and humid, I have no intention of ever going where hot and humid is. The WashPost’s Capital Weather Gang had a poll, and 3/4 of readers said they’d rather have last winter’s Snowzilla back than this. We’ve had ugly days, but this one is lasting for over a week. We already broke a record with 35 days and nights that didn’t go below 70°– about a two-dawn break on that and back into the sauna we went.
13And Rhea, I can’t wait until the Congressional hot air returns in September! Oh boy!
14Yeah, but Rhea, you know all those nice, honest GOP politicians have told us global warming is a conspiracy and not real.
15Oh puulleeazze Rhea, you’re killin’ me:
“…but this one is lasting for over a week. We already broke a record with 35 days and nights that didn’t go below 70°”.
A moderately hot whole week+!
Above 70° for mooore than a month!
bwahahahahah.
You’ll obviously never want to set foot in S. TX during Spring, Summer, Fall, or most of Winter. The last time it was much in the 70’s was probably January.
Yesterday and today (+ manana) we’ve caught a break with cooling rain all over (the western edge of the system that has been nailing LA, 4-700 miles NEast). And my auto wireless rain gauge crapped out…so my MADIS rain data is way off.
http://w2.weather.gov/climate/index.php?wfo=ewx
(or change the last three letters in the URL to “crp” or “bro”, and there are other, more inland TX WFO’s even worse)
Close enough summaries:
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/images/crp/docs/stwj/STWJSummer16.pdf
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/images/bro/wxevents/2016/pdf/JulyReview.pdf
16Minnesota – 79°, light breeze, bright blue skies, 55% humidity. It’s because we are a blue state and god likes us best.
17Well, the “Bwahahahahahahahahaha!!!” didn’t show up in the above comment.
18See ya in January, Debbo!
19Sandridge, Yes, I do understand that the natives in your area never needed a kiln to bake bricks or set their adobe. I have cousins in another country who were posted here in D.C. on several occasions and given hardship bonuses due to the tropical nature of the local weather. They even lived through some apocalyptic winters without a second thought but the alleged spring, the damn summer, and sometimes even the bipolar autumn were considered killers in every respect. The heat here has caused trouble with the “subway” tracks in the exposed areas. Car alarms are going off due to the heat. “Misting” areas have been established on the Mall area of D.C. And for the most part, traffic on the major highways is lighter as more folks are staying put despite the drop in gas prices. Some school systems in the metro area are starting early as mid-August because they are air conditioned and it is too hot for little kids to play outside without harm. There is supposed to be a “cold” front coming through later today with storms. The “cold” fronts around here are often mislabeled but we can only cross our fingers. Y’all stay safe and we will at least try to do the same.
20So. TX is way too humid for adobe. It would never set and would start to crumble as soon as the bricks were taken out of the kiln, which you would have to have as the moisture would never evaporate out of the bricks in open air. I’ve lived in Wash. DC and Maryland. I feel y’all’s pain.
21Sandridge, you’re right. I’m never setting foot in south Texas.
It could be worse. Some years back I went to a Celtic festival in northern VA and one of the performers was a poor Scot apparently just off the plane. They had two big electric fans blowing on him on stage, and he was still about to die. “How do you people LIVE in this climate?” he gasped. The rest of us were walking around saying, “Isn’t this great? It’s not hot like it usually is!” I think it was about 82° and not very humid. In Scotland anything over 75° is probably considered incompatible with life.
22Hey y’all, hordes of snowbirds still come down for the winter. One winter (Jan-Feb) in the Valley we had more than a week of 100°+ days, they were dropping like flies (it was RGV Stockshow week so we were there everyday all day w/kid’s animals, my cityguy Polish FiL from a N’ern clime toughed it out but couldn’t believe it, or some of the stuff he saw).
I think the most uncomfortable heat I’ve seen was in St. Louis, MO, super humid and no wind; St. Louis is down in a ‘bowl’ with two major rivers (used to school/work there sometimes).
23We usually have a good breeze going which makes the temps bearable.
(humidity varies a lot, last few years are actually having more ‘dry’ days, it’s nice when the RH is 5-30%, but it’s usually in the 55-85% range; at this minute it’s 95% RH per my outside gauge, but still lots of rain around after a long dry spell, nice)
I can feel the Scot’s pain! His country has summer temps akin to Maine! Its rare that you don’t need a sweater in July in Aberdeen. And the night temps are often enough to keep fresh killed venison in edible form. And then there is the rain blowing in from the sea . . . to the point where you would gamble your very life that it will never stop raining. But, hey, thats only November!
24Yeah Sandridge, up here in Aggieland we have similar conditions to yours with lows only around 78 or 79 and no seabreeze. One of my favorite clients was from Circleville, OH and wound up down here when her husband got transferred to Bryan’s air base. Her mom would come visit and be talking on and on about the weather, but Momma was convinced that Circleville was worse, and would always defend her argument with the clincher “yes, but in Texas it’s a DRY heat!” Sigh….
25Oh Henry! You smart ass.
26Juanita Jean, can we please, puh-leeeeeeeeze have no more pictures of Smiling Sid’s plug ugly face? I’m begging you! If I have to look at it again, I’m afraid I’ll smash my tablet. Have mercy!
27Aggieland Liz, I know, a daughter went to school in CS (another went to another Aggieland). I did endless seeming trips from the ‘burban to Krueger Hall hauling her stuff for the first semester (only parking space was about 400 yards away), guess it was August, soaking wet the whole time.
28Rhea wrote that it was 86 at 10PM, I often look at the temp around 2AM and it’ll still be 90-92 out, and that time is when the RH really goes up, after sundown actually.
One can always feel relatively better by knowing you don’t live in RGC, Zapata, Laredo, Eagle Pass, or Del Rio (used to work in RGC, Zap & Laredo sometimes, good gawd it’s hot and dusty there).