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For eleven-and-one-half years Rick Perry has been the Governor of Texas. As the Lt. Governor under George Bush, he took over as Governor when Bush was elected President. Thus when he ran for Governor in 2002, and 2010 he was the incumbent Republican. Texas is one of the “most Republican states in the United States,” with Republicans controlling all statewide offices, both houses of the state legislature, and Republicans have a majority in the Texas congressional delegation.
A. Perry Does Not Work Full Time
Section 658.002 of the Texas Constitution requires that all salaried employees of the state “shall work not less than 40 hours a week.” Rick Perry is a salaried employee and makes an annual gross salary of $150,000.00. Thus the Texas Constitution expressly required Rick Perry to work no less than 40 hours per week. However it is undisputed that Rick Perry is not, and has not, worked full time for the State of Texas for more than one year. As documented by Perry’s own calendar, during the year after he was re-elected in 2010, he has worked less than half-time, from the period of Nov. 1, 2010, through Oct. 21, 2011. In particular Perry’s own calendar revealed:
1. Of the 355 days Governor Perry was employed by the State he only worked a total of 164 days for “State Scheduled Business”. Thus, for 191 days out of 355 days, Governor Perry had no “State Scheduled Business.” That means he worked less than 50% of the days in the 12 months before November 1, 2011, or just 46% of the days.
2. Perry did not declare his candidacy until August 13th, 2011, and even before that he failed to work 144 days out of approximately 9 ½ months, or 285 days. That means that he worked less than half time as Governor of Texas, even before he declared himself a candidate for President.
3. Of the days that he did perform some type of state business, he failed to work a significant number of hours during a normal work day. Examples were provided.
Additional records have been received from the Governor’s office. They cover the last four months, from the period of November 1, 2011 through February 29, 2012. These records show that during this period he did not do ANY state business for 96 of those 121 days. Of the 25 days that he reports some “state business” he rarely worked a full day. For example,
1. Three of these 25 days when he reported State Business, 2-17,18, 19, were devoted exclusively to “hunting.” It is not clear from those records if he was hunting at his “Niggerhead Lodge.”
2. There is no record of how many hours during these days were actually spent hunting, as opposed to drinking, eating, or having sex.
For at least 10 other days he worked less than half time during each day:
3. On 12-25 he worked from 11:00 – 2:30.
4. On 12-22 he worked from 7:00 – 7:45.
5. On Thursday Jan. 19th, Perry announced he was dropping out of the GOP primary race.
6. On 1-23 he worked from 10:00-12:30, with 30 minutes before and after this state business when he was driven by his state paid chauffeur.
7. On 1-24 he worked from 1:15- 4:15.
8. On 2-2 he worked from 12:40- 3:00.
9. On 2-6 he worked from 8:30- 12:45.
10. On 2-7 he worked from 1:50- 4:45.
11. On 2-13 he worked from 1:15- 3:40.
12. On 2-25 he took one call at 4:45.
13. On 2-27 his only state “business” was his attendance at a funeral from 4:45 to 6:30
Thus for half of the 25 days that Rick Perry did some state business he averaged 2.5 hours per day. In conclusion even before and after declaring his intention to seek the GOP nomination for President Rick Perry worked LESS THAN HALF TIME!
B. Rick Perry Currently Receives Retirement Benefits from Texas.
Perry receives monthly retirement benefits NOW of $7698 per month, which brings his total annual salary, paid for by the State of Texas, to more than $240,000.00.
C. Rick Perry Promised that if Elected Governor in 2010 that he would NOT run for President in the 2012 race.
D. Rick Perry Lied.
On August 13, 2011, less than one year after the 2010 election, Rick Perry declared he would seek the Republican nomination for President.
E. Rick Perry’s Expenses on the Campaign Trail Cost Texas Taxpayers Over $3,600,000.00
Rick Perry spent 160 days running for President. During that time Texas taxpayers were charged for travel expenses of Rick Perry, for he and his staff, and for his security detail, including overtime. Those costs have been documented to be $3,600,000.00, and there may be more charges to come.
F. When the Governor is Out of State, Texas is Required to Pay For a Substitute Governor.
During the time Rick Perry was campaigning outside the state of Texas, the state was required to pay more than $32,000 for the Lieutenant Governor or the Senate pro-tem to do the Governor’s job. In addition to the salaries paid by Texas to David Dewhurst for his regular salary, the Lt. Governor was paid an additional $29,589 due to Perry’s absence, and Mike Jackson, the Senate pro-tem received $2,876.
G. Taxpayers Have Been Charged For Triple Costs For Perry’s Accommodations
In late 2007 Rick Perry moved into a lavish rental mansion in West Austin while repairs were to be made to the Governor’s mansion. In June of 2008 the Governor’s mansion burned, and required Rick Perry to extend his stay in the rental mansion. Costs for the rental property have been estimated to be $800,000.00. Knowing that the mansion has five bedrooms, seven baths, three dining rooms, a gourmet kitchen, and pecan wood floors, such a heafty price tag might be expected. Given the location of the mansion on 3.3 acres of land, who would question the expense?
Costs for the actual renovation of the Governor’s mansion are being paid for by U.S. taxpayers through the use of federal stimulus money of $11,000,000.00 and by Texas taxpayers through taxpayer dollars of $10,000,000.00. Thus while Rick Perry was on the campaign trail, Texas taxpayers were paying for his hotels, his rental mansion, and the Governor’s mansion.
H. Perry Re-built His Fire-Ravaged Home at a Cost of $40,000,000.00, while Texas Burned due to Budget Cuts of Less Than That Amount.
While Rick Perry found $40,000,000.00 to rebuild his mansion that burned, Perry cut 75% of the budget for volunteer firefighters or $34,000.000.00. Obviously his priority was rebuilding his own home rather than protecting the lives and property of the Texas taxpayers. Volunteer firefighters make up 80% of the state’s firefighters. Even though the unprecedented drought was recognized as early as July of 2009, Rick Perry endangered the people and property of the state by cutting funding for volunteer firefighters. Over the last year, while Perry was off campaigning, Texas burned. Over 21,000 wildfires burned 3.6 million acres. More than 1500 buildings burned while Perry was doing the very thing he promised NOT to do if reelected Governor. Just one of these fires burning out of control, while he was on the campaign trail was 14 miles wide. Instead of determining where he could find the funds necessary to support firefighters in the state, Rick Perry was giving away money to his political donors, and rebuilding his mansion.
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As a taxpayer in Texas, I’m fed up with Rick Perry. He is already suggesting he “absolutely” might run for President in 2016. If Rick Perry runs for President, or even Governor again, you can absolutely know that his opponents will simply capitalize on his record.
It is ironic that Rick Perry’s book is called Fed Up: Our Fight to Save America from Washington. Instead, a better title would be Fed Up With Rick Perry.
The following is not true. It is written and posted for your therapeutic benefit. As the Iowa Caucus nears, the insanity of the candidates who have entered the Republican Primary has become unbearable, and laughter is the only relief!
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In these last days before the all-important Iowa caucus, Rick Perry has announced his bus tour/family vacation through Iowa.
Points of interest on the tour will include:
A visit to the cheerleaders of Solyndra, Iowa,
as Perry has always had a thing for cheerleaders,
and Ontario, the capital of Iowa, and the largest oil producing location in Iowa.
The third place on the trip Rick couldn’t remember. However Rick has always loved Clint Eastwood movies, so there may be an attempt to traverse the Bridges of Madison County in the bus, with the hope that he will catch a glimpse of Clint.
It is anticipated that because Perry is all about job creation,
that he will be attempting to identify a location in Iowa for the country’s next toxic nuclear waste dump.
Rick’s bus will be equipped with a DVD player, and his staff has selected a film for the trip produced by Merck, call the Miracle of Mammograms. It is anticipated that he will have finished viewing the DVD by the time he arrives in Vancouver. It is anticipated that while visiting a Sports Bar there he will issue an executive order that all girls in Texas, age 5 and older will have a yearly mammogram using the Merck Miracle Mammogram machine.
Rick will be accompanied by his family on the trip. His wife Anita will join him
along with his two grown children. It is speculated that he really has three children, but Perry couldn’t remember where he left the third one.
The bus will stop each morning for Rick to perform his daily jogging. Don’t worry ab out the dangerous Eastern Chipmunk, as Perry is always equipped on these exercise regimens with appropriate weapons .
Rick never jogs without his weapon of choice and he uses hollow tipped bullets.
He plans to focus on the historical significance of Iowa, making sure that his family sees the location of the shot heard round the world, and taking them on the journey followed by Paul Revere as he warned the British that the Americans were coming.
The family vacation will culminate in a tour of the American Revolutionary Museum with is known for their technology exhibition of the computers used during the American Revolutionary War during the 16th century.
It’s not funny. It’s not humorous. You should never laugh at the handicapped, and Rick Perry is no exception. Rick Perry is providing an example to all Americans to embrace people with disabilities by electing them to the position of President. He wants to know if we can show by our votes if we are willing to “walk the walk” instead of “talking the talk.” We have suspected that Rick Perry may have some form of mental handicap since his epic failure in the GOP debate when he couldn’t remember more than two things.
Today we have confirmation that Rick Perry is geographically-impaired. Many suspected this disability when he suggested that Solyndra was a country. However if there remained any doubt, Rick’s latest comments have established him as having a terminal case of geographic impairment.
A man who aspires to be the President of the United States, and who has raised millions of dollars to earn the Republican Party’s nomination said:
“Every barrel of oil that comes out of those sands in Canada is a barrel of oil that we don’t have to buy from a foreign source,” Perry said, adding that buying so much energy from foreign countries is “not good policy, it’s not good politics and frankly it‘s un-American.”
There is evidence that this disability may be contagious, and the Republican audience clapped and cheered at this declaration. Rick Perry has admitted that HE is politically incorrect, but that is no excuse for others to do the same.
The Irony of discussing the issue of abortion in a Sports Bar is obvious. The change in Rick Perry’s stance on abortion is documented. He admits he has had a “transformation.” He watched a DVD and said:”I really started giving some thought to the issue of rape and incest. (There are) some powerful stories in that DVD.” Based on watching this DVD Perry says he “STARTED” giving thought to this issue. Does that mean he hadn’t thought much about it when his web site was put together summarizing his stance on social issues? Does that mean that he hadn’t really thought about it when he previously took the stance on abortion that it was OK in cases of rape and incest. How about when the mother is going to die when she carries the baby to term? Perry has signed a pledge saying that abortion should be banned in all cases. That means that he doesn’t value the life of the mother above the life of a fetus that will inevitably die when the mother dies.
The issue of abortion is not the critical issue in the 2012 presidential election. The economy is the critical issue facing America. If there is no health care for indigent women, it doesn’t matter what the Supreme Court has decided regarding abortion, she may not be able to afford the cost of the abortion. If a nuclear holocaust occurs the pregnant women will likely give birth to babies exposed to radiation and they won’t survive anyway. For Rick Perry to discuss abortion in a discussion over drinks at a Sports Bar is a clear indication of his attitude toward women and their reproductive rights, or lack thereof. To indicate that he “started” giving thought to the issue after watching a DVD, is an indication of the depth of this candidates consideration of all issues.
It’s funny that in the same article that includes a question to Newt suggesting that he doesn’t have the necessary discipline and focus to be the President, Huffington Post also reports that Newt and Perry have not filed the necessary 10,000 signatures required to be on the Virginia primary ballot. Oops! The deadline has passed and write-ins are not allowed in the primary race in Virginia. Oops! It seems that if there were a single state where Newt would “focus” on the requirements for running for President it would be his own state of residence, Virginia. Oops!
Rick Perry’s campaign has not yet offered an explanation. Maybe Virginians didn’t like what they saw in Rick Perry.
Maybe they will be the next state to have a nuclear waste dump built if Perry should be elected?
Merry Christmas!
Rick Perry hasn’t received many honors or awards, but the Texas Monthly has awarded him the prestigious “Bum Steer of the Year” award. Way to go Rick!!!
There are so many GOP candidates, and ex-candidates, and non-candidates, that it might be difficult to keep up with all the information about each. This is a simple way to test your knowledge.
1. Rick Perry thought Solyndra was:
a. a foreign country
b. a cavernous area of the moon
c. a new flavor of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream
d. a fatal medical condition that begins with the appearance of pustules on the face and then spreads to the entire body
2. Herman Cain is a:
a. serial adulterer
b. liar
c. heterosexual
d. condemns homosexuality
e. all of the above
3. Newt Gingrich is a:
a. serial adulterer
b. liar
c. heterosexual
d. condemns homosexuality
e. all of the above
4. Rick Perry is:
a. serial adulterer
b. liar
c. bi-sexual
d. condemns homosexuality
e. bigot
f. corrupt
g. all of the above
5. What will happen to Rick Perry’s “Niggerhead” hunting lodge?
a. Nothing
b. The lodge will become a recipient of a $2,000,000.00 grant from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund, and then declare bankruptcy.
c. The lodge will be featured on Rick Perry’s new reality show : “Rick Perry’s Texas.”
d. Rick Perry will sponsor a prayer rally and day of fasting at the lodge and then sell corny dogs for $10.00 each. Pictures with Rick would be available for $1000.00.
6. The British lost the Revolutionary War because:
a. Paul Revere never warned them the Americans were coming.
b. They were waiting for their North Korean allies to help but they never showed up.
c. The British never figured out what a “squirmish” was.
d. The British allowed mentally ill soldiers to carry guns.
7. The GOP candidates that lose the primary plan to do what with their buses:
a. Take family vacations.
b. Turn the buses into broadcasting stations for interviews on Fox News.
c. Park them in a trailor park and take up residence when their book sales decline.
d. Become stunt drivers.
8. The real reason Sarah Palin failed to enter the race for President was because:
a. “Sarah Palin’s White House” was determined to be too unrealistic for a “reality” television show.
b. She couldn’t control the police in D.C.
c. She couldn’t figure out what it is the President does.
d. While on vacation in Columbia she was kidnapped, and nobody would pay the ransom to get her back.
9. What really happened to the “evidence seized” by the Anchorage Police Department that the Judge ordered to be returned?
a. The APD gave it to Todd because he needed a good way to keep track of his clients.
b. Police Chief Mew is using it to support his retirement.
c. Willow destroyed it with the other property when she had her holiday party at the offices of the APD.
d. It miraculously disappeared one night and in it’s place was a note from God.
10. Why is Newt Gingrich still married to his third wife?
a. She isn’t sick.
b. He can’t find another.
c. A & B
d. None of the above
11. Why did Michele Bachmann win the Iowa Straw Poll?
a. She got each one of her foster children to vote.
b. She gave away corny dogs to everyone who voted for her.
c. Voters favored her because she was a good dancer and wanted to see her on Dancing with the Stars.
12. What will happen to Trig now that his mom has no use for him?
a. He’ll star in a reality show called “Are You My Mother?”
b. He’ll write a memoir called “Not Afraid of Mom: My Journey so Far.”
c. He’ll make “abstinence only” commercials.
d. He’ll be the GOP candidate in 2048.
13. What will happen to Todd now that his wife is no longer a politician?
a. He’ll be a stay-at-home husband and keep her panties clean.
b. He’ll be appointed the next Chief of Police for the APD.
c. He’ll start a government-funded clinic for Peeping-Toms.
d. He’ll go into business with his sister.
14. What will happen to Willow no that mom is no longer a candidate, and Willow dropped out of High School.
a. She’ll drive a cab.
b. She’ll become a job creator through her small business know by the name “Willow’s Demolition and Destruction Company.”
c. She’ll take advantage of mom’s studio that is no longer being used and turn it into a meth lab. She will use the APD for the distribution arm of the business.
d. She write her memoir called “The Good and Bad of a Bipolar Mother: A Case Study.”
“NETWORK” was made in 1976 and won four academy awards. In 2000 it was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry because it was “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” The movie is remembered for this scene:
Rick Perry has inspired Texans to want to run to their windows, as Peter Finch did in Network, and yell “I’m Mad As Hell, and I’m Not Going To Take It Any More.” Given Perry’s epic failure in the Republican debate, it is unlikely he will ever work in the White House.
However he will be returning to Texas as the Governor for three more years. We don’t want him back. Relying on statutes that create an intolerable retirement benefit for Rick Perry, he is able to collect retirement benefits of $6,588 (net). He can receive these benefits while still serving as Governor. He is still drawing his salary as Governor, of $150,000, even though he worked less than half time.
That means he is currently making $240,000 for working less than half-time. If he remains as Governor for three more years, his retirement benefit will be even greater, and he will still be eligible for Social Security and state-funded health care.
While making $240,000 for working less than half-time, Rick-good-hair-Perry has:
1. Struggled to balance the budget in Texas, which had a $6.6 Billion shortfall in 2010-2011 fiscal years. Texas is facing budget cuts for 2012-2013 of $31 billion which includes dramatic reductions for spending on schools, colleges, Medicaid and social services for the needy. The state comptroller estimated that revenues will be $15 billion less in fiscal 2012-2013 than the previous two-year period.
2. Written a book “Fed Up” which proclaims that America could be a great nation if the government “will just get out of the way.”
picture fed up
3. Promoted himself as a man of strong faith and values, while he is taking advantage of Texans
The really frightening thing is that if Perry should be elected President he could be inaugurated, and then immediately retire. At that point his retirement would be increased by $191,300.00.
Perry has said we should STOP spending money we don’t have, on programs we don’t want”.
LET’S START WITH HIS RETIREMENT BENEFITS.
Rick Perry tried to justify his new anti-gay, and anti-every-religion-but-Christianity ad
by putting out an equally offensive ad. In his new ad Perry attempts to justify his previous remarks by explaining that he is not “politically correct,” as if that would make his anti-gay, anti-every religion but Christianity, remarks acceptable.
Perry specifically mentions the corruption caused by congressmen becoming lobbyists as one form of legal corruption. He concludes by saying:
“I’m Rick Perry, an outsider, who will overhaul Washington and tell you the truth,…”
As bold, foolish, and paradoxical as the first ad might seem, this second is worse. In the second, Perry specifically makes reference to the legal corruption promoted by lobbyists who formerly held office or were closely related to a politician who was in office. It’s as if Perry thinks we have forgotten about Mike Toomey. Mike Toomey was the former chief-of-staff for Perry, and who went on to work as one of only three lobbyists in the State of Texas for Merck, the drug company that manufactures Gardasil. Perry’s ties to Merck run even deeper. Perry received thousands of dollars from Merck’s political action committee. Merck doubled its lobbying efforts in Texas, not only supporting Perry, but also “Women in Government.” Perry is connected to “Women in Government.” Perry’s current chief of staff is related to the state director of Women in Government. She is his mother-in-law. Additionally a top official from Merck’s vaccine division sits on Women in Government’s business council. Thus, when Rick Perry issued an executive order mandating the vaccination of school girls between ages 11 and 12, with Gardasil, manufactured by Merck, it created the appearance of political incorrectness.
Mike Toomey is respected and feared for his keen intellect, tough political tactics and his longstanding partnership with the governor. Mr. Toomey’s clients have won $2 Billion in state government contracts since 2008. Mr. Toomey has turned his success on behalf of his clients to Mr. Perry’s benefit, funneling their political donations into groups that have helped strengthen both his legislative majorities and his re-election efforts. Campaign finance laws have often allowed Mr. Toomey and his clients to obscure their involvement. Toomey was involved in the Tom Delay scandal over the 2002 redistricting of congressional districts in Texas? He was one of the shadiest, most central of figures in that scandal.
But the unethical conduct of Toomey doesn’t end at the executive order mandating the use of Garsadil. Mr. Toomey, “…embodies the worst in Texas that has led to deregulation, corruption, unethical figures like Tom Delay, and the enrichment of special big business interests at the expense of Texans.” The fact that Toomey was paid $260,000 by Merck to lobby Perry and his aides is only one example of the money he has realized as a result of his relationship to Rick Perry, and the money he has funneled to Perry. Mike Toomey helped Rick Perry get $465,000 in a land deal from Michael Dell, the computer magnate.
Perry once sold a 9.3-acre tract to computer magnate Michael Dell for nearly four times what he paid for it, using influential Texas lobbyist Mike Toomey as the broker. The West Austin property sold for $465,000 in 1995 and gave the Dell estate badly needed access to an adjacent municipal sewage district.
Thus when Perry says he is not “politically correct” he is right. He is politically “incorrect” and his relationship with Mike Toomey is not only unethical, but is a specific example of a politician turned lobbyist. Mike Toomey is exactly the type of scum that hurts all of Texas, and he is trying to position himself to cause damage to the entire country. Rick Perry says he is not “politically correct,’ and that’s the first thing he has said that we can believe.
Newt Gingrich may be corrupt and immoral, but he is generally perceived to be smart. Conversely, Rick Perry is perceived to be corrupt, / immoral, and stupid. Thus if Newt and Rick agree on something you can bet it is their common characteristic of being corrupt and immoral that motivates them to agree. Recently both Newt and Rick have touted their respective “optional flat tax” plans. Perry suggests a 20% flat tax, and Gingrich prefers a lower flat tax of 15%. Perry’s personal financial motivation is clear. With a net worth of $2.8 million dollars, Perry would benefit from a flat tax of 20% by reducing tax on his income by 15%. Newt’s net worth is much greater, estimated to be $20 million dollars. Newt is smart enough to realize that a 15% flat tax rate would reduce his tax burden by 20% which is more than 15%.
So what is wrong with a more simple flat tax? The answer is “a lot”. Even the conservative Forbes magazine points out the problems inherent in a “flat-tax” structure. Forbes explains that the attraction of a “flat tax” system is that it appears to be a more simplex system. However the reality is that under a proposal like that of Gingrich and Perry, a tax payer would have to calculate their taxes owed under the current system AND under the flat tax system to determine which was more favorable to them. In essence the “flat tax” system advocated by Gingrich and Perry would complicate the payment of taxes instead of simplifying it. Of course every tax payer would opt to pay the lowest amount of tax, so we can be sure that these proposals would guarantee reduction of taxes paid by each of them.
The truth is that a flat tax system places an undue burden on the lower and middle class by removing deductions and expanding the tax base to include every level of income. Moving to a flat tax system shifts the tax burden from the rich to the poor, those who are most effected by taxes and least able to pay. By exempting unearned income like interest or dividends, the working class is supporting the idle rich. In essence a person who works every day and earns minimum wage would pay the flat tax on his/her income, and the income from invested money like that of Gingrich and Perry would be exempt from tax. http://taxes.about.com/od/statetaxes/a/Flat-tax.htm
A “flat tax” has three main flaws: 1) It seeks to improve something that is already completely equal; 2) It forces middle-class taxpayers to subsidize the wealthy; and, 3) It confuses much-needed tax reform and tax simplification in defining taxable income with the unrelated issue of whether the rate applied to that income is flat or graduated.
A “graduated pregressive tax” is fair. Graduated progressive taxes are FAIR for three reasons: 1) they treat all taxpayers exactly the same; 2) they treat dollars with appropriate difference based on differing levels of marginal utility; and 3) those who receive the most benefit should pay for the disproportionate benefit derived from the system. http://www.wordwiz72.com/flattax.html
Thus even Rick Perry realizes that the less he pays in tax, the more money he has in his bank accounts. Even a stupid politician realizes that he’d rather keep his money than pay it in taxes.
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