Bad Deeds for 1-21-2012

 

Civil Rights Voting Score For Republicans in the First Session of the 112th Congress is Dismal – The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights has released their report on the voting record for the first session of the 112th Congress.

The average score for Republican senators was only 3%. 79% of Republican senators earned a score of 0%.
By contrast, the average score for Democratic senators was 97.5%. 76% of Democratic senators earned a perfect score of 100%.

The average score for Republican in the House was only 15%. 15 Republicans in the House earned a score of 0%.

By contrast, the average score for Democrats in the House was 93.4 %. 43% of Democrats in the House earned a perfect score of 100%.

 

Texas Senate Republican Map Was Pre-Cooked – Senate staffer admits conspiring to write Redistricting Committee report BEFORE a committee hearing.

Yesterday, under cross examination in federal court, Doug Davis, the map drawer for the Republican Senate leadership, was forced to admit under oath that he worked secretly to get the Senate Committee report on redistricting written and the bill prepared BEFORE a single committee hearing had been held. Also, the scheme was underway before the public had been given an opportunity to view and comment on the plan.

Davis’ efforts were exposed by an email written from Texas Legislative Council lawyer David Hanna responding to the scheme by writing “No Bueno” and warning that such an effort would create a “paper trail” exposing the bill’s violation of the Voting Rights Act. The email was written only hours after the Republican redistricting plan had been posted to the State’s redistricting website. It confirms that Texas Republican leaders had no intention of listening to or responding to any comments from the public or accepting any substantive amendments from Senate Members. It further acknowledges their worries that the plan does not comply with the Voting Rights Act and may not survive legal review.

 

Privately-Run Prison Bankrupts Texas Town – The GEO Group, along with CCA (Corrections Corporation of America) are the two largest private prison and immigrant detention operators in the country. At an average rate of $200 per night/per inmate, private prison operators profit over $5 billion a year. How do they do it? Like con-artists, they lure town councils and local government officials with promises of easy money and increased revenue. However, what they don’t tell them is at what cost!

Littlefield, Texas found out the hard way. The GEO Group promised increased “product” (aka detained immigrants) and alleged prosperity for a town that was struggling with an economic crisis. Instead, what Littlefield got was a mega-complex private facility, an additional $10 million contractual debt, and a fleeing population.

CCA and the GEO Group have spent more than $20 million lobbying local, state and federal officials and in campaign contributions to candidates running for these offices. They do so to have more facilities built and to increase their already bloated profits – even if these immigrant detention centers are not needed.

 

Rick Perry’s Presidential Run Wasted Nearly $2.7 Million Taxpayer Dollars on Airfare, Baggage Fees, Food and Parking – According to records from the Texas Department of Public Safety, we can project Perry’s security-related travel costs from the day he officially announced his candidacy to when he suspended his campaign on January 19. The $2,651,429.14 in Texas tax dollars he’s wasted on jet liners and fancy hotels is money we’ll never see again unless Perry pays us back.

Luckily, Rick Perry can pay taxpayers back today. According to Rick Perry’s latest ethics report, his state PAC has $2.47 million in the bank. He could repay 93% of what he owes us today by writing one simple check.

 

Texas Releases More Climate Pollution Than Any Other State in the Country – A major report released last week by the Environmental Protection Agency showed that Texas releases more climate pollution than any other state in the country. In fact, Texas’ annual emissions are more than the next two most polluting states combined.

The four biggest pollution sources in Texas are all coal-fired power plants, and they’re owned by the same two companies: Luminant and NRG Energy.

It’s clear that Governor Perry has no intention of addressing this problem2 — so we need to make sure Luminant and NRG know that Texans want major reductions in air pollution.

Click on the link above and tell Luminant and NRG Energy: Texans deserve clean air. Invest in clean energy and stop dumping climate pollution into the atmosphere.

Regards,

Jim