Initiative, referendum, and recall … do we need them?

By The InkDemon

My friends and relatives on the West Coast used to send me e-mailed petitions. None is valid here in Texas. In fact, Texas is only one of nine states that does not have recall as part of the Constitution. Texas does not have initiative either.

Texas is one of a few states that does not have recall.

Why? Texans have a long distrust of their elected officials. That feeling came out of the Reconstruction era. When Texans finally re-gained control of their state in 1870, they wrote the present Constitution. It is one of the wordiest documents in all the 50 states. practically noting can be done by the Legislature without a state-wide referendum.

Recall was not considered; but if it was known, this blogger is sure it would have been included. Of course, elected officials can be kicked out of office for misconduct. That is left up to impeachment. State officials have been impeached, too. This blogger recalls a Supreme Court Justice Donald Burt Yarbrough, who was indicted for malfeasance and run out of office in the 70′s before he was impeached. The Legislature impeached Gov. James E. Ferguson in 1916. No other governor has been impeached.

Ferguson’s story was unique because his wife, Mariam, later ran for governor and was elected.  They billed themselves as “Ma” and “Pa” Ferguson – Two governors for one vote.   It was a laugh.

Initiative is what generates that annoying e-mails from the West Coast. Out there, they can get up a petition and make almost anything into a law. In fact, California’s state constitution has so many initiative-inspired changes that only about 40 percent of their budget can be changed without a Constitutional amendment. That avenue was attempted a few years ago, but California voters turned it down.

Texas Republican Gov. William P. Clements proposed Initiative and recall when he was governor. The Democrat legislature rejected it.

Recall can get bad officials out of office. However, as we see in Wisconsin it was used to stop officials from making needed reforms. The United States and the 50 states run as republics. That means we the people choose our officials, and the elected officials conduct government. If they are honest, then they should get an opportunity to serve their terms.

Initiative and recall moves the state towards a democracy and the whims of the populace. That was what the founding fathers feared the most.

An angry Ron Paul libertarian say he will opt out of presidential election; Is this good news for Obama?

By The InkDemon

Libertarian Ron Paul voters are angry that their man did not win the in the Republican Primary. In fact Paul did not make the runoff. Now, like this blogger, they advocate dropping out. This could spell good news for Obama and the Democrats.  Read this blogger’s reasons:

The Lesser of two Evils?

By Dave Mundy
manager@gonzalescannon.com
Posted June 7, 2012 – 8:01am

There are a lot of folks who like to say that if you don’t vote, you’ve got no right to complain about the results. I beg to differ.

Why bother to vote when everything has already been decided, and your vote wouldn’t have mattered?I didn’t vote in last week’s party primaries — primarily because I’m not a member of either of the two major parties, although I certainly have a lot of allies among the Republicans and certainly tend to lean that direction on a lot of issues.

I have in the past voted in the GOP primary — which put me on a lot of mailing lists this election cycle — but I can’t say I’m a card-carrying Republican. In light of Tuesday’s results, I feel that’s probably wise.

Read more: The ‘lesser of two evils’ is no longer a valid choice | The Gonzales Cannon.

Was Ted Cruz another tea party mistake?

By The InkDemon

U.S. Senate candidate Ted Cruz of Texas belongs to a law firm that is representing the People’s Republic of China.

This story is about an American inventor Jordan Fishman who patented a new kind of tire to be used in mining. The San Antonio Express-News reported:

In the late 90s, Fishman created a new kind of tire that contains a three- inch layer of rubber on the outside, enabling it to withstand the punishment that comes from working in confined spaces.” (Gilbert Garcia, “Patent Lawsuit Haunts Senate Candidate,” Plaza de Armas Blog, www.plazadearmastx.com, 9/28/11)

After Discovering His Tire Blueprints Had Been Stolen, Fishman Filed A Lawsuit Against The Chinese Company In 2010, & The U.S. District Court Ultimately Sided With Fishman & Awarded Him $26 Million In Damages.

A jury in Virginia sided with Fishman and awarded him $26 million, the E-N article said.

The E-N article continued:

In An Interview, Jordan Fishman Said Cruz “Had A Choice” Over Whether To Take The Case. “Whether Cruz was hired directly, or his firm was hired and asked him to take the case, Fishman said Cruz had a choice of whether to work for the company. ‘He is the lead attorney. And he accepted, and he had a choice,’ Fishman said.” (Peggy Fikac, “Star Of Anti-Cruz Ads: It’s Personal,” Houston Chronicle’s “Texas Politics” Blog, 4/24/12)

As A Result Of The Theft By The Chinese Company, Fishman Was Forced To Lay Off More Than 90 Percent Of His Employees In The U.S. “But Fishman said his company had 45 people in the United States, and now has only one and half employees – including himself.” (Peggy Fikac, “U.S. Senate Ads: Fact-Checking Fighting Words,” Houston Chronicle’s “Texas Politics” Blog, 5/15/12)

The question is whether this is a David Dewhurst attack advertisement or a legitimate news story that has caught Cruz red-handed. This blogger thinks it is the latter. The inventor had to lay off 90 percent of his employees.

This is not the first time a Texas elected official has represented foreign interest over American workers. This blogger worked for 27 years in information technology. This was a career field that was critically short of qualified people. As a result wages were astronomically high. American employers — one of them was Ross Perot — devised a scheme to bring in qualified workers from India to fill the gap.

Soon these companies went further. The started replacing their American workers with Indian contractors who would work for half the wages. The Indians flooded into the country in the late 1990′s. Then the companies like J.P.Morgan & Co. started to move their operations to places like Mumbai, India, where their hiring practices were less visible. Many American high-tech jobs dried up.

This blogger called Rep. Sam Johnson’s office many times. Rep. Johnson’s office defended the program. Meanwhile, Americans with Bachelor of Science degrees in Computer Science are working at curio shops or as Wal-Mart greeters. Rep. Johnson likely will be re-elected. So who is he representing? Is he representing Perot and people like him or the voters … the workers?

Rep. Johnson’s web site says he is a Vietnam war “hero”. The blogger asks: If sitting in a Hanoi Hilton for four years makes one a hero, then what is three-time Ace Robin Olds? In this blogger’s opinion, when one calls oneself a “hero” it leaves a foul odor in the air.

So will Cruz defend American jobs if he is elected? His record says otherwise.