In Rick Perry’s Texas, Only Twenty-Seven Percent of Texans Hold College Degrees – According to a recent report from the College Board, which administers the SAT and AP tests, ranks Texas 40th in the number of people ages 25 to 34 who hold at least a college associate degree. In addition, less than one-third of Texans in that age group have a postsecondary degree, far below the 41 percent national average.” [Makes it easy for RWA leaders to manipulate their uneducated followers.]
Rick Perry’s Texas Has Three of the Five Poorest Counties in America – According to CNN Money, three of the top five poorest American counties with a population of 250,000 or more are in Texas. In Hidalgo County, Cameron County and El Paso County, median household incomes per year in 2004 ranged from $24,778 to $28,925.
Rick Perry’s Texas Has the Least Educated Area in America – A recent report from the Brookings Institute identified McAllen, TX as the least-educated metro area in America, with only 15.1 percent of its residents holding bachelor’s degrees. El Paso, TX wasn’t far behind (or ahead, depending on how you look at it).
Rick Perry Put Drug Company Money Ahead of Texas Children and Parents – Rick Perry put the financial considerations of his “big business special interest cronies” before the rights of Texas parents and the well-being of Texas children. There is a clear financial connection between a drug giant Merck & Co. (maker of the dangerous and withdrawn drug, Vioxx), top Austin lobbyist Mike Toomey, and Rick Perry’s own campaign. Perry and his aides were in extensive talks with Merck representatives for months before announcing their mandate to vaccinate girls in Texas with the drug Gardasil.
Mike Toomey, Perry’s former chief of staff, is one of Merck’s lobbyists here, and Merck gave $6,000 to Perry’s re-election campaign. On the same day the donation was made from Merck to Perry’s campaign, Perry’s chief of staff, Deirdre Delisi, met with Merck representatives to discuss Gardasil. Perry’s chief of staff, Delisi, met with Mike Toomey, the Merck lobbyist, three times to discuss the HPV vaccine.
Mike Toomey was also recently involved with the scandal involving the Green Party’s petition to get onto the ballot here in Texas, and he may be hiding out on his own private island that is co-owned by Perry’s political strategist, to avoid being served with a subpoena by the sheriff’s office in Austin.
Did You Like [Invading] Iraq? Then You’ll Love This New Republican Push for New, Bigger War – Republicans in the House of Representatives have introduced a measure that would green-light an Israeli bombing campaign against Iran. The resolution, H.Res. 1553. US military leaders have warned that strikes could be catastrophic to US national security interests and could engulf the Middle East in a “calamitous” regional war.
Nearly a third of House Republicans have signed onto the resolution, which has been publicly discussed and circulated by its lead sponsor, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), for months. The introduction of the measure coincides with a pattern of renewed calls for military strikes that have escalated since President Obama signed “crippling” Congressional Iran sanctions into law. Neoconservatives who were instrumental in orchestrating the Iraq War, such as Bill Kristol, and Reuel Marc Gerecht, have led the stepped up calls for military action.
Hawkish former Bush Administration official John Bolton recently laid out the game plan to prod Israel into attacking Iran, arguing that outsiders can “create broad support” for a strike by framing it as an issue of Israel’s right to self defense. Supporters for military strikes, Bolton says, should “defend the specific tactic of pre-emptive attacks” against Iran.
Send your letter demanding that House Republican Leader John Boehner denounce the Iran War Resolution.
Boehner Cites Not Knowing Whether Three Of His Brothers Have Found Jobs As Evidence Of ‘Empathy’ – House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) revealed on Wednesday that three of his brothers lost their jobs during the recession, but he’s not sure whether the three brothers remain unemployed.
“I’ve got real empathy for those who are unemployed, as most of you know I’ve got 11 brothers and sisters. I know that three of my brothers lost their jobs, I’m not sure whether they’ve found jobs, yet, so I’ve got a lot of empathy for those caught in this economic downturn,” Boehner said.
Boehner doesn’t have time to check how his brothers are doing; he’s too busy playing golf.
Regards,
Jim
Andy Hailey