The Longview News-Journal is a newspaper in Louie Gohmert’s home district.  Admittedly, there are some local newspapers in Louie’s district who kiss his stinky rank butt, but the Longview newspaper ain’t one of them.

This week, they go after Louie’s vote against aid to the areas of Texas that were leveled by Harvey.  It was horrible in Houston, but maybe even worse were the dozens of small towns along the southern coast who didn’t get all the attention and love that Houston did.  Rockport was leveled, but there are no teevee stations in Rockport so no celebrities raising money showed up.

The Longview newspaper notes that six Texas Republicans voted against the aid to Texas supposedly because there were no offsets and these six Texas Republicans were unwilling to sacrifice their big salaries, fancy pants overseas “fact finding” trips and their big fat perks just to save someone’s life.

But, the News Journal does such a superb job of smacking Louie upside the head that’s it’s worth your read.  They write ….

Knowing Gohmert, the “logic” of his vote could be much more esoteric. It is possible he worried that undocumented immigrants would use the money to produce anchor babies who might then become future gay members of space colonies.

They know him well.

Way to go, Longview News-Journal.  It’s nice that somebody in East Texas recognizes caca del toro when they smell it.

Thanks to Karen for the heads up.

Melanie says Thank You and God Bless You!

I thank you, too, for helping my small town and many areas around it.

Jeff Flake bites the dust.

When Hurricane Maria touched down in Puerto Rico, Whitefish Energy Holding had two full time employees.  Today, they have been rewarded a contract for $300 million to restore power to the island.

Now how the hell did that happen?  Oh, the usual way – big campaign donations.

Slick Joe

The private equity firm that finances Whitefish is controlled by Joe Colonnetta.  Joe and his wife are major, major, big time donors to Donald Trump – donating the limit to both his primary campaign and his general election fund. They tossed more money into PACs for Trump and the RNC.

And that’s not all.  The CEO of two-year-old Whitefish is Andy Techmanski.

The Washington Post and the Daily Beast on Tuesday offered more details on the company’s backers. The Post noted that the firm is based in Zinke’s hometown and that its CEO, Andy Techmanski, is friendly with the Interior secretary.

So, a friendship with Zinke and some cash did the trick, and a trick it certaintly is!  This is a $300 million dollar government contract going to a two-year-old firm with two employees.  That right there isn’t a easy feat to pull off.

But practice does make perfect.

Joe Colonnetta’s relationship with the GOP is not limited to his contributions; he’s a prominent figure in Texas Republican politics. According to HBC’s website, in 2013 then-Texas Gov. Rick Perry appointed Colonnetta as a trustee for the Retirement System of Texas; in 2015, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Colonnetta to serve as chairman of the investment committee also at the Retirement System of Texas; and the same year, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick appointed Colonnetta to his policy advisory committee.

Hey, Slick Joe learned from the best.

Thanks to Deb T and Alfredo over at the Dairy Queen for the heads up.

The Wall Street Journal has a weird little story this morning about Trump, the Chinese, and Steve Wynn, of Vegas gambling Wynn.

The WSJ’s headline says:

China’s Pursuit of Fugitive Businessman Guo Wengui Kicks Off Manhattan Caper Worthy of Spy Thriller

The Chinese want Guo Wengui, who is currently hiding in a hotel in New York City.  Guo has wagered a Twitter War with senior Chinese officials and business tycoons.

Outside of being big in the gambling industry from Vegas to Mississippi, Wynn is also the finance chair of the Republican National Committee.

And here’s where Donald Trump gets involved.

No, Trump was not talking about a Chinese National with law enforcement problems.

Nope, the man Trump wanted to give a death sentence to was to be part of a trade for Wynn to get a gambling license in Macau.

Thanks to Deb T for the heads up.

Hey guys, if you send me a question or comment with an address that kicks back any response I send, that makes me sad.  Especially if I want to thank you.  (Earthlink is especially bad about this.)  So, Meredith and Magdalene, I can’t send you an answer.

This is happening more and more.  Although I don’t have time to answer all my email, every so often I do.  If it disappears into where the Russians are keeping my emails and all the lost socks from my dryer, I get sad.  Just know I’m thinking about you.