Congress Failed Before the Levees Did

My wife and I spent a couple days after Christmas surveying the destruction in New Orleans. It broke her heart to see it.

TV does not show you the real devastation - it reminded me of World War II scenes of destroyed cities.

For blocks the homes are wrecked. Not a soul can be seen for miles. One or two diehards are trying, but they are doing it in toxic laden ghost suburbs like Chalmette. The photo was taken at the levee break in the Lakeview subdivision. On the left is where they are repairing one of the breaks.

The houses are filled with mold. Now they stand like dry timber on soil contaminated by chemicals that poured in with the flood waters.

At one levee I found out from the repair crew that there was not one break, but seven.

Legislation authorizing levee upgrades have sat in Congress, ignored, for YEARS. Once again, the lack of foresight by our leadership has resulted in billions in losses. Had the levees not failed, New Orleans would not have flooded - it has lost 80% of its population. It will cost FEMA billions without addressing the levee problem. I saw little construction or clean up activity. You would think that our billions of tax payer dollars would result in a little more organized activity on the ground.

Why does this concern District 22? Because DeLay was Majority Leader and could have acted on it before disaster struck. New Orleans is critical to America because it is the terminal for offshore oil from the Gulf of Mexico that drives America. It is a major coffee and sugar import port. The Mississippi River is our main north-south river of commerce moving grain from the Midwest. New Orleans is the southern terminal. If it didn't exist, we would have had to create it because of its strategic importance to our national economy.

Keep in mind that Mr. DeLay has been sitting in office for over 20 years with the power to protect the Gulf Coast yet he failed to pass the necessary legislation. Texas, while hard hit by Rita, was spared a major hit to Galveston. Maybe next time we won't be so lucky. As long as DeLay is in power, we certainly won't be more prepared.

I ordered a half Muffaleta at the Napoleon restaurant. The waiter returned and said they only had gumbo and one quarter Muffaleta left- supplies are still sporadic in the region. I took it and was grateful to have a taste of the city I love so much.

DeLay's Struggle for signatures

News reports that Mr. DeLay filed by submitting “nearly 1000” signatures in lieu of paying the filing fee. Their spin: “"We wanted to show people the kind of support we have," DeLay said.

I watched DeLay’s people hit on people for signatures at events all summer – and all they came up with is 1,000? In 2002, I filed 750 names for the GOP ballot – I started in mid-December and got them in two weeks!

Then, to please DeLay, the party removed me from the 2002 GOP ballot, claiming I did not have the required 500. I had to stop campaigning and go to court to get back on. I spent the campaign season in limbo. We won the case and I was reinstated. By then the primary season was nearly over. So the 20% of the vote I got in 2002 was without benefit of campaigning or a mail out.

As I watched DeLay’s people circulating the petition, I saw few people signing. When I was asking people for signatures, I was getting 9 signatures for every 10 requests. Even my volunteers were getting over 50%. If DeLay had the same success rate he would have turned in over 10,000 signatures not less than 1000!

Bottom line: DeLay’s “strength” in the GOP is not as strong as the spin.
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2006 Campaign Official

On December 9, 2005, I filed for District 22's GOP primary to once again challenge Tom DeLay, who now is under indictment. There is talk of more charges coming out of a federal probe of Mr. Abramoff. Anything is possible.

The US Supreme Court has decided to hear the Texas redistricting case. If it throws it out, this primary could be void and we could end up having to do this all over again in a special election.

That means chaos on the GOP side. You could have DeLay convicted, a special election, and a dozen GOP candidates splitting up the vote versus one Democrat (Nick Lampson).

2006 promises to be a wild ride. My focus is on issues of concern to the people in District 22. It always has been. My prior campaigns made Mr. DeLay focus more on his district. I have seen three (3) different boundary configurations, and run in each.

That could come in handy if we end up on a Special Election in a new district - where my 5 years of name recognition counts.

We are calling this campaign "Operation Restore Honor." Why? It is evident that we need more, not less, ethics in Washington. We need a return to "Fjiscal Fjitness" to put it another way.

"The world is moved not only by the mighty shoves..."

POSITIVE QUOTE OF THE DAY -----

"The world is moved not only by the mighty shoves of the heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker." -- Helen Keller

How true Helen.

And I think it also thirsts for genuine leadership.

Leadership is not all about money and power or overuse of power. People want leadership that is about people

All people, not just some of the people. Leadership is certainly NOT politicians who sell their favors.

We just had a Congressman resign for taking a $2.5 MILLION bribe! He was a Republican. The Republican Ex-Majority Leader is under indictment for a felony.

You don’t get a felony indictment for jaywalking. Bribery is a serious offense. Abuse of power is wrong. The GOP needs some new people.

My focus is on restoring honor to Congress.

In the last week much has been happening. Pledges are pouring in. Donations are rolling in. THANK YOU!

Spread the word.

We shall continue this campaign for all the "tiny pushes of each honest worker" and American.

We are calling it: "Operation Restore Honor"....

Michael
P.S. It’s not about being a hero. It is about helping people. It is about doing the right thing as an honorable Congressman represents our country and all the people in it regardless of religion, color, etc.

My goal is to be a statesman, not a monarch.

To do this, I need your donation TODAY. Do it for justice, honor and America.

"Don't DeLay" Donate Today at www.MikeFjetland.com

Bio Engineering - Bugs that make drugs

If you want a eye-popping peek at the future, then read this article on bio engineering.

It will sound like science fiction, but it's not. Some of it sounds totally bizarre, but it is already happening.

Scientists in Israel have made the world's smallest computer by engineering DNA to carry out mathematical functions. Other researchers are engineering the E. coli bug with genes from the wormwood plant and yeast to create a new malaria drug.

The worry is that there is no control on this system that could also produce something harmful - a bio disaster could be the result along with new malaria drugs, etc. It is not on Congress' radar because it is so new.

Scientists are creating new life forms with vast and unknown impact. This is something Congress should be looking at now before there is a disaster by "gene hackers" using these "Mail order genes." They could be used for anything by anyone in the world.

Congress should be proactive, not just reactive. Preparing in advance to avoid pandemics like Avian flu and future bio terrors should be a central part of Congress and our leadership.

It certainly is my focus. Our future depends on what we do now to prepare for these and the other rapid changes sweeping this brave new world.

I'm off to deliver food to the less fortunate today. Thank God for this country and our unique system.

Congressman For Sale

If you want to see who is buying our representative, then read Craig Hines column today in the Houston Chronicle.

He talks about the lobbyists who showed up and ponied up $2,100 apiece to DeLay's campaign fund a few blocks from the people's Congress.

That is efficient - Mr. deLay doesn't have to go far from his office to grab the fat checks and run to the bank before signing back in at Congress to do whatever the lobby wants him to do - not what the people of his district need or want.

"Congressman for Sale" should be a sign hanging outside his door. It could not get any more apparent than watching this DC money grab go on. It's almost like open Prostitution. It is Legalized bribery and vote buying...

What kind of American values is this Mr. DeLay?

I will represent the people of this district who have real concerns from prescription drugs to pensions, not the lobbyists.

New Website

The Website has been upgraded and modified.

Check it out at:

www.MikeFjetland.com

Admission of Guilt

It is Veteran's Day - and I salute all vets for their service to this country.

In today's Washington Post is a blockbuster. Apparently Mr DeLay admitted in front of prosecutor Ronnie Earle (after agreeing to a stenographer recording it) that he knew about the illegal $190,000 BEFORE it happened, and approved it.

In law, that is called an "Admission against interest."

Yikes. That is serious.

That means his seat could become vacate after the primary next March, if he is re-elected and then convicted based on his own admission and other evidence...

GOP, We Have A Problem

GOP, we have a problem - an image problem.

The election yesterday resulted in Democrats taking two Governor spots --Virginia and New Jersey-- and does not bode well for the GOP in 2006.

Anyone who says otherwise is whistling past the cemetery.

The former House majority leader is under indictment. The Vice President's Chief of Staff is under indictment on a separate matter. Spending has gone nuts. The proposed cuts miss the fat and cripple our future.

As the election showed yesterday, either we make the change or the people will. If the GOP does not change out these characters, the public will do it for them --by picking Democrats instead of Republicans.

The next opportunity to do that is in the District 22 primary next March.

What if the district GOP primary voters elect an indicted Congressman next March, who gets convicted before the general election? That will be great for the Democrat in the race.

Even if he is not convicted (DeLay's lawyer got off a guy who shot and chopped up his neighbor), the damage has been done.

"Where there is smoke, there's fire." The incumbent has already rolled up several reprimands and become a national negative symbol for the party.

The incumbent's skeleton pile is becoming a mountain. This cannot be a good thing for the district, the party or America...

Congress Deficit - Send in an Accountant

If you want to read a good article on the "new math" used by Congress in its budget games, read this article in the Chronicle. "Spending like drunken sailors" comes to mind. Congress could use some accountants to challenge the voodoo math when they take our social security money and count it as "surplus." They didn't teach me that in accounting class at UT. They don't teach that in accounting at A&M either. Congress needs to put those funds in a lock box then deal with the reality of what is left. But, like sailors hitting town after months at sea, it won't happen until we change the players. The debt will leave a huge burden on your kids and grandkids. And finally this. DeLay's cuts are in all the wrong places - if he continues "business as usual" we will create a permanent underclass -- and his policies will end up bring the "Paris riot burnings" here. That is what happens when politicians create an atmosphere where people don't have opportunity to move up.

DeLay blames Minority for Budget Bloat - Go Figure

Check this out in today's Houston Chronicle:

"In a speech to a group of conservative academics and policy experts, DeLay blamed the runaway spending of recent years on minority Democrats."

What? And check this quote:

"When he took questions, the first came from a senior official at the American Conservative Union, who asked DeLay, "How large does the Republican majority in the House and Senate need to be before Republicans act like the fiscal conservative I thought we were?"

Very good question.

Take responsibility Mr. DeLay - the bloat in the budget is what you made as majority leader. Quit blaming the minority for your $24 billion pork barrel 'bridge to nowhere."

It has been on your watch that we have the highest deficits on record - nearly $500 billion/year. Don't blame others for the mess you created.

And $24 billion in highway pork is just the tip of the bloat...This quote from the article sums it up best:

"The Club for Growth, a conservative group that funds like-minded candidates for Congress, has turned the highway legislation into a bumper sticker for the GOP's fiscal failings. "Too many Congressional Republicans have veered away from the limited government agenda that got them elected to the majority in Congress. They have approved pork-barrel highway bills worse than the Democrats used to give us," says one appeal to supporters."

Defense Fund and Kinky

The nice thing about not having a defense fund is that I don't have to worry about reporting donations to it -- or failing to report all of it.

Not a lot of people are rolling in so much dough that they would actually miss reporting $20,000 of it but it happened (see the highlighted story).

I had a conversation with a self described conservative Republican woman at dinner the other night - after I overheard her mention "Kinky" to her dinner companion (who turned out to be her husband).

When I dropped by their table and introduced myself on the way out, she explained that she had been at the packed Ft Bend Chamber luncheon where Kinky Friedman, independent candidate for Texas Governor, spoke. It was a packed house. He made a big impression.

She said every conservative in the county was there - many trying desperately not to laugh at Kinky's witty remarks (after stifling a laugh she said they'd look around the room to see if anyone saw them trying not to laugh).

She said Kinky made a good impression and had a shot at getting the 45,000 signatures, even from conservative Republicans. Even many conservatives are not impressed with our present leadership. Very interesting.

Mr. Friedman did say things, quoted in the Ft. Bend Herald, which I agree with -- such as: "We need to put teachers back in charge of the educational system. We need to have people in charge who have actually seen the inside of a classroom."

"Friedman said a border policy with Mexico is an issue which needs to be addressed as 'New Mexico and Arizona have declared a state of emergency on their borders, but Gov. Perry says all is well with our borders.' "

Very interesting. Before I left the lady said she knew my name, and had voted for me when I ran before. That made my day.

George Will on K Street Conservatism

No one can accuse George Will of being a liberal.

In his column in the October 17, 2005 edition of Newsweek he made some interesting points. Will said: "DeLay, who neither knows nor cares any more about limited government than a camel knows or cares about calculus, probably will never return to the House leadership, and might even be voted out of the House in 13 months." (my italics)

He goes on to say:

"Furthermore, in 2004 DeLay won with an under whelming 55%, running nine points behind President Bush in his district."

Finally, he says: "...some Republicans think 'big government is good government if it's our government.' Since 2000 the numbered of registered lobbyists in Washington has more than doubled, from 16,342 to 34,785. They have not been attracted to the seat of government, like flies to honey, for the purpose of limiting government."

Mr. Will makes perfect sense.

Our present wild spending and episodes of K Street lobbyists writing bills in Mr. DeLay's office diminishes our future, leaving less prosperity for ourselves, our children and our grandchildren. This activity also diminishes Congress.

Instead of being an independent branch of government Congress has become one selling favors for donations. There is a word for that.

We have to change directions and start doing what is right for the people who aren't big donors or lobbyists. Congress is supposed to be serving people, not PACS. That is one of the things that drove me to challenge the incumbent previously. That has not changed.

On Houston 740 am radio Saturday, a commentator, interviewing Pat Buchanan said that perhaps "the GOP should spend a few years in the wilderness (out of office) because of this out-of-control budget situation….”

Pat Buchanan responded by saying that instead of replacing the Republicans with Democrats:

“What the GOP needs is fresh faces.” Mr. Buchanan also has a good point.

Either the GOP replaces its faces in office (the ones under a cloud) or, as George Will points out, it will be Democrat faces getting elected to replace the GOP DeLay’s, etc. as the public decides that they have had enough of Congress dining with lobbyists over wine and golf in expensive Scotland resorts while spending trillions for bridges to no where.

Congress: Votes NO on Viagra; YES on Pay raise

It took running up a trillion dollar deficit before Congress finally voted to stop funding Viagra as part of Medicare/Medicade. Duh.

But with the same huge deficit hole Congress is still giving itself a pay raise:

"the raise from $162,100 to $165,200 appears certain, because the House has voted to accept it; it takes actions by both chambers to block congressional pay raises. A yes vote was to block a congressional pay raise."

Give the Senate credit for voting it down. The House, supposedly run by conservatives still continues to spend money like mad and continues to give itself pay raises when it has lost control of the budget and spending.

We need to put Congress on the same social security plan as the rest of us (instead of their elaborate six figure pension plans). Their inflated pensions and pay raises that cannot be justified when they are cutting spending for kids, freezing benefits for military vets, etc. at the same time. That isn't right.

Cutting payments for something optional like Viagra was a rare moment of sanity coming from Congress. Now let's take an axe to the $24 billion in pork in the last highway bill (with the bridge to no where) and cut the rest of the fat on our bloated budget--like an unnecessary pay raise for the Congress that created the budget mess in the first place.

Astros Prove the Impossible is Possible – The Mug Shot

It took 44 years. But the Astros won their first-ever World Series slot last night. I took my portable TV to a bible study class, which wrapped about the 6th inning. It proves that things that may seem impossible are indeed possible.

The news covered up Mr. DeLay’s historic trip today -- a mug shot and fingerprints as part of the felony indictment for money laundering.

TD has hired an attorney who recently got an acquittal for a guy who shot and chopped up his neighbor (Mr. Durst). That’s serious. It was avoidable.

The claim that Earle’s case is “just political” falls apart when you look at the facts. According to DeGeurin, Earle gave DeLay the option of pleading out on a misdemeanor. If he had taken that plea offer, DeLay would still be majority leader.

It was a “slap on the hand” offer. If it was a vendetta, there would have been no misdemeanor offers. Mr. D should have taken it. It’s too late now.

After three recent reprimands Mr. D has received, people would not have been shocked or surprised by a misdemeanor (unfortunately). He would be in power now; instead of unplugged from it. He’d be on easy street. It was his call.

My condolences to Mr. DeLay’s family.

I attended a great briefing on Houston homeland security upgrades this week. More on that later. Go all the way Astros...

Pakistan needs American Relief - Saddam's Trial and a Plea Bargain Offer

I got a message from a person who went to Pakistan and saw the immense earthquake damage - Entire Mountain cities destroyed. The death toll is 50 times Katrina - over 50,000.

He says: "present top priority is given to medicines and other items like tents." So if you can help, please do. In Houston call the Pakistan Center via Tasleem Siddiqui. He will be available at the Pakistan House but you have to him to set up the timings: Cell 281-236-7597. . Drop your donations there at Dairy Ashford and Bissonnet. Floods, hurricanes and earthquakes are killing far more than Al Qaeda.

Meanwhile, Saddam’s trial is starting up. He is another guy who spent over 20 years in power and loved to squeeze the little people -- to death. Saddam shows the danger of having “one party” States where your guy never pays a price for stepping over the line.

Today's Chronicle had an interesting tidbit –Before the indictment Mr. DeLay had been offered a plea bargain by Ronnie Earle. DeLay could have pled guilty to a misdemeanor (yep, a slap on the hand) and he would have been able to retain his job as majority leader. DeLay turned it down, according to his lawyer, Dick DeGeurin. Now he faces a felony and had to step down as majority leader. After 3 ethical reprimands, what the heck is a misdemeanor? It would have saved him millions in legal fees and bad press and he could have kept his job. Duh.

I have to wonder about his decision making. DeLay had no where to go but down and he passed on a safe deal.

Don’t forget the “DC RULE” – Once you lose power, you never get it back (e.g. LBJ, Nixon, Jim Wright, etc.)

That’s the cool thing about American democracy -- and keeps it fresh. And it gives a chance to those of us on the bottom who have no where to go but up.

America remains a dictator-free zone because we prosecute people regardless of party affiliation when they “play the ethical edge” even if they have Saddam-like powers. Iraq and countless other places could use the same judicial checks and balances.

P.S. Don’t you love those Astros! After 45 years they are at the front door of their first World Series! Don't let that distraction or donor fatigue keep you from helping our many neighbors who need it.

A World of Hurt

If you pay attention to the world you might have noticed that we are experiencing a world of hurt. While some of us were caught in the Katrina and Rita disasters, Hurricane Stan blew the Hades out of Guatemala, an earthquake killed over 40,000 in Pakistan and even New Hampshire and Rhode Island are flooding and washing away people.

All this since the Boxing Day Tsunami last Christmas killed an estimated 300,000 or so and lead to the Bush-Clinton Fund.

And this year we have actually hit the end of the alphabet on hurricane names - Wilma (?) is forming.

Obviously we need to do a better job paying attention and addressing mother nature's terrorism - hurricanes and flooding have killed vastly more people than Al Qaeda. It will take a combination of public and private efforts to deal with these threats to the global economy and peoples' lives.

The billions lost in our own economy are staggering. Multiple that globally and it is in the trillions.

But we could turn these disasters into global economic generators – new homes, new construction, new schools for kids in places like New Orleans and Pakistan. New jobs and better opportunities can be the result of these upheavals.

For over 20 years of the incumbent’s watch, we have not had an organized system for dealing with these issues in an organized, global/local/regional approach.

I will insist on it.

Avian Flu - Are we prepared?

I have always felt that a good representative made efforts to avoid disasters instead of merely reacting after each one. The Titanic could have used someone telling the Captain to slow down in iceberg country.

Today we face the possibility, along with terrorism and high gas prices, of something worse than either 9 11 or paying $3 a gallon for gas --a new flu virus from Asia that could be a worldwide Pandemic. The last one in 1918 killed millions. Much more should be done nationally and internationally to minimize the potential destructive power of this invisible killer.

My concern is that our rep is so focused on his own legal troubles (as one should must when charged with a felony) that he is less able to pay attention to, or deal with, these critical issues before they become critical.

We all know what happened after the side of the Titanic was gashed one watertight compartment too many. Ironically, the ship would have survived had the crew turned it TOWARDS the iceberg instead of away (so the berg merely sliced the side like a long, fatal knife cut). A front end collision would have damaged fewer compartments, and the damaged Titanic would have remained floating, instead of floundering.

We need to tackle this virus head on.

We don't need to flounder in a global world of events when something is happening 12,000 miles away which can forever change our tomorrows in a negative way. We do not have a vaccine or the international controls necessary to avoid this biological creature potentially more dangerous then Al Qaeda.

Need for International Emergency Plans

First we had Katrina, then Rita and now Pakistan's worst natural disaster in their history. Instead of standing on rooftops, people are standing on mountaintops next to collapsed homes, waiting for aid.

I published a piece about the need for local/national/international emergency aid today at my Global American group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GlobalAmerican/

Preparing for the Next Disaster

A reader makes a good point.

I did downplay the potential disaster of another hurricane evacuation. Or any evacuation caused by a natural disaster or terrorism. I was trying not to scare everyone, although the same disaster could happen again.

We have major chokepoints in adjacent counties that are overwhelmed by 2.7 million people fleeing a Cat 5 storm from the Texas coast.

Our population will DOUBLE in the next 20 years. How will our evacuation handle even more people? it won't, not without changes.

One great idea I heard today from an Indo-American friend was using high speed rail between Houston, San Antonio and Dallas as an evacuation tool to move elderly and countless others out of harm's way. It was tried between Houston and San Antonio on an Amtrak line during RITA, and worked.

However, because of lobbyist’s influences on our Congressman, our commuter rail system is now a decade behind Dallas, Atlanta, etc. We

Adding commuter and high speed rail should be considered as part of our improved evacuation plans after the lessons of RITA.