Trusting God In Austin

State Senator Dan Patrick (R-Houston) and Representative Richard Raymond (D-Laredo) passed resolutions to place the motto “In God We Trust” in the House and Senate chambers. Given the current state of Texas and the record of the leadership in Austin, it is time Texans embrace the motto and trust a higher being, for God knows the leadership in Austin can’t be trusted with the issues important to Texans.

State Senator Eliot Shapleigh (D-Laredo) released his annual report “Texas on the Brink: How Texas Ranks Among the 50 States.” It should come as no surprise that Texas ranks near the bottom in almost every category. According to the report Texas is 1st in percentage of uninsured children and 49th in the percentage of children with immunizations, 48th in average SAT scores, 5th in the rate of women with cervical cancer, 1st in the percentage of high-interest mortgage loans, and last in the quality of our air. Texas also has the highest insurance rates in the nation. After deregulation of college tuition, rates have raised an average of 39% and deregulation of electricity has provided more competition yet rates have skyrocketed.

Over the last 6 years, the leadership of Texas was trusted with insurance reform providing concession after concession to the industry, yet rates have doubled. Texas now has the highest rates in the nation, 25% higher than 2nd place Louisiana, and rates twice the average of the country. Now the same leadership wants to be trusted with reforming windstorm insurance.

The leadership was trusted with deregulation of electricity promising more competition in the free market that would result in lower rates. Instead homeowners were rewarded with the “power to choose” between higher rates or even higher rates. As with insurance, the leadership was trusted with a resource that most cannot live without and they failed. Miserably. Even worse they have refused to acknowledge their failures even while paying higher rates themselves.

The leadership was trusted with the cost of college education removing the restrictions by the State to allow more competition. Like insurance and electricity this resulted in an average increase of 39% in tuition rates. And again, they have refused to acknowledge their mistakes.

The leadership was trusted with reforming the CHIPS program, which provides basic health coverage for the most needy children in the state, yet hundreds of thousands lost their coverage under a failed privatization scheme. State Representative John Davis (R-Houston) of the Human and Health Services Committee defended the privatization experiment that provided tax dollars to outsource services to Bermuda while it resulted in massive failure and costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

Now the leadership, funded by voucher proponents, wants to be trusted with a privatization experiment concerning our public schools. Citing the low rankings of Texas schools, they are attempting, once again, to pass voucher legislation disguised as “school choice.” Yet they conveniently fail to acknowledge the low rankings are due mostly to their lack of leadership to adequately fund public schools while stripping local control from the school districts.

Over the last 6 years the leadership in the House and Senate was trusted with insurance reform, deregulation of electricity and college tuition, the CHIP program, education, the environment, and other issues important to the citizens of Texas, and they have failed. Instead they have rewarded the insurance industry, electricity companies, businesses with little or no fear of lawsuits, and the few who donated unlimited millions to their campaigns.

Texans who believe in separation of church and state should put aside their beliefs for the 80th Legislature session and embrace the motto “In God We Trust.” Maybe God will be able to adequately represent the citizens and children of Texas. The leadership of Texas sure as hell hasn’t been able to do it.

God help us all.

John Cobarruvias
Houston
1 smiley face - Feb 19, 07:36 PM

Senator Shapleigh is from El Paso, not Laredo.
2 Anthony - Feb 19, 08:19 PM

One thing you forgot to mention was the Governor who’s agenda is driven by special interests that contribute to his campaign, give his son or former staffers jobs and continues to represent special interests against the will of his constituency.
3 SR - Feb 19, 10:01 PM

i thought the deregulation of electricity has given consumers opportunities to choose lower rates. is this not the case?
4 John Cobarruvias - Feb 20, 12:17 AM

“i thought the deregulation of electricity has given consumers opportunities to choose lower rates. is this not the case?”

Are you kidding? My rates have doubled since deregulation, and I put in a new efficient A/C!

Now, I did change to another provider and got a slight better deal, but when your rates double, a 10% discount doesn’t exactly help much.
See http://bayareahouston.blogspot.com/search?q=electricity for an analysis of my bills.

Same with insurance. see http://www.bayareanewdemocrats.org/files/example.pdf for an analysis of my insurance rates with USAA.

And my insurance went up another 15% just this month!

Is anyone saving any money on insurance or electricity?
5 hot - Feb 20, 12:59 AM

Deregulation only works if there is real competition, which is not the case in the current effort at global corporatization. The US hasn’t seriously invoked anti-trust laws in decades. Monopolies and price fixing is the norm in this environment.
6 Worf - Feb 20, 04:49 AM

My, my. I can sure identify with those poor Afghans sliding from one disaster to the next courtesy of their religious zealots.
7 John Cobarruvias - Feb 20, 06:17 AM

Worf,

Although that wasn’t the point of the article, that is a very good point indeed!
8 Van - Feb 20, 08:06 AM

Who was it that said, “You can go to Hell, I’m going to Texas”? These days, the next sentence would be, “Oh, yeah, it’s the same place, isn’t it?”

I don’t understand why our legislators won’t swallow their pride and say, “Let’s do some serious research at what makes other states’ education/insurance/health/etc.systems work so well, and let’s see if we can’t do the same.” But I’m afraid what you’d have to do first is completely gut the civil servants who run the departments and who so zealously guard the status quo and the pockets their fingers and other assorted body parts are inserted.
9 John Cobarruvias - Feb 20, 03:18 PM

They DO look to other states, but they are pointed to the “facts” by the people who put them in office, the insurance industry, homebuilders, business.

It used to be that the elected officials were suppose to represent ALL of us, not just one side.

Insurance is a perfect example. They got massive tort reform, insurance reform, and every concession known to Texas.

What did we get? Screwed.

So much for looking out for the people of the state.
10 Mary McClure - Feb 20, 05:25 PM

“God is love” (1 John 4:8).

TX govt:

http://www.state.tx.us/category.jsp?language=eng&categoryId=6

I love Texas and the U.S.

We have problems, but compared to other countries with zealots in political control…

I’m currently reading Iran Awakening, a Memoir of Revolution and Hope by Shirin Ebadi, Winner of The Nobel Peace Prize (2006 Random House). I highly recommend it—it is available at the Sugar Land library (after I return it).
11 dk - Feb 20, 06:33 PM

Just to point out a significant fact that is missing here. The reason electricity prices have gone up so much (and this is true nationally) is that the price of natural gas has skyrocketed over the past several years. Our electric generation capacity has become more dependent on natural gas, subsequently our costs have gone up. Until we find ways to introduce alternative sources of fuel (like clean burning coal technology), I am afraid we will continue to see high electricity prices. It would be worse for John if he had not installed a new high efficiency air condiditoning system!
12 John Cobarruvias - Feb 20, 06:49 PM

“We have problems, but compared to other countries with zealots in political control…”

No, we have problems with zealots in political control.
13 K Tunstall - Feb 20, 08:33 PM

Van said: Who was it that said, “You can go to Hell, I’m going to Texas”?

Davy Crockett
14 John Cobarruvias - Feb 20, 09:49 PM

dk,

Do you work for the energy industry? That was a pretty good recital of the energy industries talking points.

The insurance industry has talking points too.

Let us prey.
15 CBT - Feb 20, 10:24 PM

John,

You need perspective, my fellow Ag. Until we start putting people on trial for “contempt of religion”, “‘spreading information disruptive of public order and damaging to the country’s reputation”, “incitement to hate Islam”, and “defaming the President,” you have absolutely nothing to worry about.

Read all about one Egyptian man’s plight here:

http://michellemalkin.com/archives/006899.htm

And you think you have problems?!? Read the linked articles and find out what his own father recommended!
16 anonymous - Feb 20, 11:01 PM

CBT,

What John is talking about is how tort reform left us the consumer out of the reform and now we can’t even defend ourselves as the big corporate interests do just about whatever they want to us, including sue us at will (see documented cases). Justice is just a tad (understatement) out of wack. John is right and I’m not even a democrat.
17 CBT - Feb 20, 11:32 PM

What I am referring to is John’s comments re: “zealots in political control” (#12).

I ignored the rest of his hyperbolic and demostrably false comments…
18 John Cobarruvias - Feb 21, 05:19 AM

“I ignored the rest of his hyperbolic and demostrably false comments…”

you know, if I knew what the hell that meant, I would challenge you to a duel to the death.

Or not.
19 had enough? - Feb 21, 07:27 AM

dk, “Just to point out a significant fact that is missing here. The reason electricity prices have gone up so much (and this is true nationally) is that the price of natural gas has skyrocketed over the past several years. Our electric generation capacity has become more dependent on natural gas, subsequently our costs have gone up.”

So, the promise is that when natural gas prices decrease, electric companies will pass on that savings to customers by decreasing electricity rates?

That won’t happen and we all know it. I call BS on that whole concept. Pure BS. They raise the rates with some lame excuse – the “poor me! the sky is falling and my expenses have increased excuse” and then they sit back and rake it in when times are easier for them.
20 John Cobarruvias - Feb 21, 09:52 AM

p.s. Speaking of God.

My daughters soccer team started the game with a prayer asking to keep the kids safe.

It didnt work. Someone got a concussion and will be out for the rest of the season.

Damn. Who can we trust now?
21 CBT - Feb 21, 06:52 PM

“you know, if I knew what the hell that meant,...”

Exactly my point.

Ronald Reagan: “Well, the trouble with our liberal friends is not that they are ignorant, but that they know so much that isn’t so.”
22 Noel Pinnock - Feb 21, 10:16 PM

To be honest the deregulation of public utilities in the 90’s is truly counterproductive in the Houston Metro area because it is a paradox that continues to propagate ambiguity and mixed emotions with residential electric consumers. In fact, we should not even it call it deregulation inasmuch it is the same regulated system we had prior to “deregulation”. I, for one, pursued this to the highest level or authoritative limits, which is the Public Utility Commission. I filed a complaint that despite the pseudo competition, the Texas Distribution Service Provider (TDSP) or CenterPoint still have ownership of the power lines and are “monopolous” in their own right. Now, is this deregulation? Short answer…no. In fact, this is still the same oligarchy and regime that owned operated the once known, Houston Lightening & Power (HL&P). With deregulation we introduce the onslaught of Retail Electric Providers (REP) such as: Reliant Energy, Energy One, Ignite, Consumer Choice, etc. The REPs purchase power from CenterPoint energy at an cost (competitive costs) and they in-turn resale the power to residential/commercial consumers at another rate (not competitive). Essentially, we still have the “middleperson” who drives the inflation or deflation of the rates we, as consumers, pay each month.

The TDSP or CenterPoint is responsible for servicing the lines and repairs. The REP or Reliant Energy, Consumer Choice, etc. are responsible for disseminating Electric Consumption Usage Summary to their customers. Both are regulated under the PUC’s substantives rule.

The plot thickens…now the TDSP is responsible for reading meters and REP is responsible for sending you bills but who validates the readings that are manually recorded and “electronically” submitted via a middleware system call “ERCOT”. This might at first seems like everyone is playing on a level playing field…right? Wrong, our TDSP don’t have the resources to read every residence, multifamily dwellings (i.e. apts., condos, lofts, etc.), and commercial facilities within the time required to ensure they successfully transmit consumption readings to your REP so they use, as documented, Customer Usage Patterns (CUP) to estimate your electric consumption.

So where does that leave many electric consumers…yes, you guessed it…guessing whether or not their bill is indicative of their true electric consumption.

Have you ever seen a meter-reader recording your meter using a monocular or walking down the street with a ladder to enable him/her to read meters that are obscured by high fencing or structures? Well, if your response is no…then you are wrong again…CenterPoint, under oath, asserted that they train their meter-readers to use a monocular to read meters between the spacing between picketing fencing or from long distance. They also train them to use ladders and carry them to read meters where there are obstruction.

I know for certain this is ludicrous and absurd because when I affixed basic box tape on my meter, I received a bill each month. When I turned the appliance that requires and consumes the most electricity (khw) OFF during the summer, my bills continue to increase as oppose to decreasing.

My REP, Reliant, was found to be in violation of PUC Substantive Rule 22.479, which, makes provisions to protect customers from such practices. Our TDSP, CenterPoint, passed the buck because they testified that they passed the readings via ERCOT (remember) to the REP as estimated but the REP failed to denote the usage summery bill with the word “ESTIMATED” as provided under the aforementioned substantives rule.

Ultimately, I was one small residential voice, under GOD, against high-power attorneys that are retained by both the TDSP and REP to represent, defend, and lie on their behalf during situations like this.

You can read more by copying and pasting the URL below in a web browser:

www.puc.state.tx.us/publications/update/2003/090403.doc

Also…God is omnipotent, omnipresence, and omniscient…He is everything…May the soccer player who sustained a concussion have a speedy recover in Jesus Name…Check out some additional readings…

http://www.publishamerica.com/shopping/shopdisplayproducts.asp?Search=Yes
23 John Cobarruvias - Feb 22, 02:06 AM

I dont she was a Christian. Maybe that is why she got hurt.

But getting back to my original point…..

Trust in God, cuz you cant trust in our elected officials.

And don’t play soccer.
24 Mary McClure - Feb 28, 05:05 PM

CBT, thx for the info.

Takes you directly to the petition (might save a life):

http://www.petitiononline.com/KAmer/
25 hot - Feb 28, 07:28 PM

John,

Don’t worry the rest of us understand your point and I think it’s valid!
26 Carter St.Clair - Mar 1, 03:55 PM

I’m not sure which insurance rates you are referring to, but in Florida, our homeowner’s insurance was WAY more expensive than here in Houston. And life insurance is about 50% less for similar coverage. I’m also with USAA, and I’m getting better rates on just about everything. As far as power costs, I switched to Amigo Energy last month, and I’m receiving a 10.9 cent per KW rate – lower than the 15.9 cent that TXU charges. Lets see if it holds.