A Green Rush Of Marijuana In Texas In June In Arlington

This morning I was surprised and a bit puzzled by the advertisement you see here on the back cover of this week's Fort Worth Weekly.

The Arlington Convention Center is hosting a Green Rush Texas event where you can learn how to start up a marijuana business?

Did I do a Rip Van Winkle and wake up in a Texas which has legalized growing marijuana?

When I went to sleep not even medicinal marijuana was yet legal in Texas, and the only states where recreational marijuana and medicinal marijuana has been legalized is my old home state of Washington, the state I was born in, Oregon, a state I have fished in, Alaska and a state I have mountain climbed in, Colorado.

So, with that pattern in place it makes sense that the state I have lived in for over 15 years, Texas, would also legalize marijuana.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott Increases High School Graduation Rate To 100%

I saw that which you see here, this morning, on Facebook, and found it to be amusing.

The brilliant  new governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, signed into law something called SB 835.

This new law exempts thousands of Texas high school seniors from needing to pass graduation exams before being allowed to graduate, thus solving the chronic Texas low high school graduation rate problem.

Greg Abbott seems to be on a fast track to making an even bigger impression on the rest of America than his two predecessors, Perry and Bush.

Will this new law cause the upcoming Jade Helm 15 takeover of Texas to now be expanded to taking over Texas high schools?

The first event I went to after my arrival in Texas was Fort Worth's Main Street Arts Festival. I had never been to anything where you had to convert your American currency into coupons in order to buy something like a hot dog. Or turkey leg.

At the time I thought American currency was legal tender for any monetary transaction.

The State Fair of Texas was the next event I attended where I had to get in a line to buy coupons before I could get in another line to buy deep fried butter.

After several more events where I could not use money, directly, to buy something I figured this was some sort of universal Texas practice.

And then I went Canton First Mondays Trade Days to find myself surprised that I could use regular money to buy a smoked turkey leg.

At some point during my period of puzzlement about what seemed to me to be a bizarre practice, after opining that I thought it bizarre, a Texan told me the reason American currency is not used directly at a lot of events in Texas.

The low high school graduation rate.

Many of the kids hired to sell the hotdogs and turkey legs don't have the math ability to make change.

But, they can count coupons.

Somehow I don't think Greg Abbott's SB 835 improvement to the Texas high school graduation rate is going to end the need to get in line to exchange American currency for coupons at next year's Main Street Arts Festival...

The Bridge Of The Gods Over The Columbia River Was No Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Bridge

Continuing on with our popular series of blogging about feats of bridge engineering that took less than four years to build.

What we are looking at here is known as the Bridge of the Gods.

You would have seen this bridge if you saw the Reese Witherspoon movie, "Wild" depicting Cheryl Strayed's epic Pacific Crest Trail hike.

The Bridge of the Gods is where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses the Columbia River from Oregon to Washington. This was the location of the end of Ms. Strayed's "Wild" hike from California north.

In 1920 the U.S. War Department issued the Interstate Construction Corporation a construction permit to build the Bridge of the Gods.

However, apparently a local congresswoman's unqualified son was hired to direct the project.

By 1925 the Interstate Construction Corporation had only managed to build one pier. An entity called Wauna Toll Bridge Company then took over the project and had the new bridge open for traffic in October of 1926.

I wonder if the Wauna Bridge Company is available to take over construction of America's Biggest Boondoggle's three little simple bridges being built over dry land with a four year construction time span?

The Bridge of the Gods was not built over dry land. It was built over water, currently, on average, 108 feet deep.

In 1938 the water under the Bridge of the Gods began to rise due to the completion of Bonneville Dam. That same year Congress voted to fund the raising of the Bridge of the Gods 44 feet, along with increasing the length of the bridge from 1,131 feet to 1,856 feet. This was completed in 1940.

How can a complex feat of bridge engineering take place over the mighty Columbia in such a short time span while in Fort Worth it takes four years to build three little simple bridges, with no obstacles to make construction difficult?

I have opined previously my aggravation over the fact that J.D. Granger, his mama and Fort Worth mayor, Betsy Price, have each propagandized the ridiculous lie that Fort Worth's little bridges are being built over dry land in order to save money by making construction easier.

Why is this a lie?

Because there will be no water under those little bridges until a ditch is dug under them and the Trinity River is diverted into the ditch.

The bridges are being built over dry land because this never voted for by the public, public works project, is underfunded, unlike the Bridge of the Gods, and pretty much any other public works project in America which actually works.

How come the Star-Telegram does not send one of its Pulitzer Prize winning reporters to ask a few questions of J.D. Granger?

Questions like...

Will you explain why you claim these bridges are being built over dry land, prior to the digging of the ditch, to save money, when there will be no water in the ditch until the Trinity is diverted into it?

Can you explain why it will take four years to build these three little bridges over dry land, when there have been bridges built all over the world over treacherous bodies of water with construction times of less than four years?

When will the digging of the ditch begin?

Won't the bridges already being in place present a construction difficulty when the ditch is dug under them?

Four years from now, if the three bridges are completed by then, when can we expect to see water flowing under these bridges?

What is the construction timeline of the ditch that goes under the bridges?

And then when Mr. Granger tells the Star-Telegram reporter he does not know when the ditch will be dug and how long it will take to dig it I hope the reporter asks...

How can you not know? You've been the director of America's Biggest Boondoggle for well near a decade. How can you not have a project timeline for this project?

America's Biggest Boondoggle is very perplexing, and even more perplexing is the fact that, apparently, most of the voters who vote in the area of America's Biggest Boondoggle either don't know what a mis-managed mess it is.

Or don't care.

How To Win An Election Landslide

For days now I have found myself bumpuzzling over the puzzling results of Saturday's TRWD Board Election.

I had expected the incumbents, Lane & Leonard to lose.

I thought the record breaking early voting turn out was due to voters turning out to vote out the TRWD incumbents due to being disgusted with the TRWD Board's myriad shady shenanigans.

Including the incumbent's sleazy mud slinging lie filled campaign and its flood of poster-sized mailers.

But, when the results were tallied Lane & Leonard won. Not only did they win, they won in a lop-sided landslide

I figured the Tarrant Region's highly educated, highly intelligent voters would have rolled their eyes at the TRWD incumbent's embarrassing scare tactics of warning them about that nefarious grave-robbing Dallas businessman's evil plot to take Fort Worth's water,  forcing the people to drink toilet water.

Even after witnessing Texas closeup for over a decade and a half, I am still ignorant as to how things work here.

It is clear to me now that a lot of Fort Worth people have some sort of irrational fear of Dallas. And the mastermind behind the incumbent's campaign knew exactly what ridiculous strings to pull to get voters to vote for the incumbents.

Or maybe those voters who voted for the incumbents are all hunky dory with nepotism and cronyism and all the other TRWD Board shady shenanigans.

Those voters who voted for the incumbents must be okay with Jim Lane arranging a sweetheart deal for his bankrupt friend, Carl Bell, paying about twice market value for some contaminated land on which the world's first drive-in movie theater of the 21st century was built, along with an ice rink.

Those voters who voted for the incumbents must approve of the way the TRWD Board and Jim Oliver have treated Mary Kelleher.

The voters who voted for the incumbents must not mind the TRWD Board wasting millions of their dollars on a ridiculous attempt to take water from Oklahoma.

The voters who voted for the incumbents must be okay with the TRWD violating, repeatedly, the Freedom of Information Act.

The voters who voted for the incumbents must be big fans of a slow moving public works project they've never voted for, that keeps changing its name as the years roll by, which is now known, by many, as America's Biggest Boondoggle.

The voters who voted for the incumbents must think it makes perfectly good sense to take four years to build three small simple bridges, over dry land, connecting the mainland to an imaginary island.

The voters who voted for the incumbents must think it is a good thing to encourage people to get wet in the polluted Trinity River, while making little effort to clean up the river.

The voters who voted for the incumbents must be big believers of eminent domain abuse taking their neighbor's homes and businesses for an economic development project slated to be a big moneymaker for friends and family of the TRWD Board.

Except for Mary Kelleher.

The voters who voted for the incumbents must totally approve of hiring the unqualified son of Fort Worth's congresswoman, Kay Granger, to direct what has become America's Biggest Boondoggle.

The morning after the election I was asked by someone in Los Angeles if I thought the election had been rigged.

I admit when I saw the lop-sided landslide results the rigging thought did cross my mind. But, I can't imagine how such a rigging would be possible.

Then again, I do have a limited imagination.

What I am fairly certain of is, when the next TRWD Board Election rolls around in two years, the mudslingers are going to be slinging it at Mary Kelleher.....

Spencer Jack's Skagit River Vision Riverwalk Sprouts Year Round Tulips

Email from FNJ (Favorite Nephew Jason) and Spencer Jack this morning, with three pictures along with a short message....

FUD---
Skagit County now has tulips in bloom year round.

Tulips year round? I wondered what that meant when I read it.

The third photo answered the question.

But first I saw the picture of Spencer Jack you see here.

Is this Spencer's first selfie? Is his dad teaching Spencer to drive?

Before we get to the tulips we get to a picture of Spencer Jack sitting at what looks like some sort of futuristic picnic table.

That futuristic picnic table is located on Mount Vernon's Skagit Riverwalk.

I don't know what the actual name is of Mount Vernon's new riverfront.

Skagit Riverwalk sounds like a good name to me. What with it allowing one to take a scenic walk along the river.

The Downtown Mount Vernon Flood Protection and Revitalization Project came about when Mount Vernon opted to find a better solution than sandbagging when the Skagit River goes into flood mode endangering downtown Mount Vernon.

Mount Vernon did not call its river project the Skagit River Vision. Mount Vernon's project was fully funded, engineered with a project timeline. A project solving a real flood problem, in addition to adding a riverwalk to downtown Mount Vernon.

No local politician's unqualified son was hired, and overpaid, to oversee Mount Vernon's Skagit River Vision.

The Skagit Riverwalk has a plaza that is bigger than downtown Fort Worth's Sundance Square Plaza that the Fort Worth chamber of commerce sorts seem so proud of.

And now we get to those year round tulips.

Those are some mighty big tulips Spencer Jack is sitting under!

I wonder if anyone in Mount Vernon is trying to get some sort of Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats in the Skagit River?

I suspect not.

Even though the Skagit River flows with clean, litter-free water, unlike the Trinity River, the Skagit is a real river with a current which can move quite fast, varying in speed with tidal changes a few miles downriver where the Skagit meets Puget Sound.

Unlike the Trinity River the Skagit is a bit cold year round, due to a large volume of the Skagit's water coming from melting snow and glaciers.

I wonder how many more years it will be before you will see anything like you see above produced by the Trinity River Uptown Central City Panther Island Vision Boondoggle?

We know it won't be for another four years til you will see The Boondoggle's three bridges being built over dry land to connect the mainland to an imaginary island.

The bridge you see in the above pictures was built in less than four years.

Built over an actual river......

Tough Day For Democracy Transparency Fairness & Fighting Corruption In Texas

That which you see here I saw this morning, on Facebook, posted by the Fort Worth Connie D.

The question asked sort of matches how I am feeling about some Texans this morning.

I am way too stupidly optimistic way too much of the time.

I stupidly assumed that Fort Worth voters were not so easily duped into not voting for someone out of an irrational fear that someone in Dallas was plotting to take over Fort Worth's water supply.

A blog comment from someone named Anonymous shared the sentiment I was feeling...

"Tough day for the revolution".

Tough day for democracy, transparency, fairness and fighting corruption.

A series of comments from Facebook....

• Ok friends. The election is over. No more political posts for a while (except results).
• So far those results ain't good.....
• Hope the votes went the way you wanted.
• Not good Andy.
• Nope. Not good at all. Unfortunately people in Fort Worth are very reactionary to Dallas and it looks like they successfully labeled the candidates with their misinformation. I had one voter ask me why I would hold a sign for that lady from Dallas. I tried to convince him that Michele lived in East Fort Worth But he wouldn't buy it. Sigh.
• Now, the terrible news. Craig Bickley and Michele Von Luckner appear to have lost their bid to be the second and third non-corrupt TRWD Directors (with hopes to join incorruptible Mary Kelleher). They fought a hard battle - and stuck to the facts; while the incumbents slung mud, lied blatantly, used taxpayer funds to campaign and peddled their influence to MANY Dallas area billionaires. Our fight against government abuse, lack of transparency, and corruption doesn't end here. To those who were fortunate to win - and to those who didn't win THIS TIME... Keep up the fight!
• Good Mornin'! As I am sure you heard, Craig and I did not win the seats on the Board of the TRWD. We can truly say it was not because we did not give it our all and with the help and devotion from our many volunteers, our friends and our families. We are not losers, we truly won by all the people we were so blessed to meet. We have brought much needed attention to this Board and the unethical practices, the backdoor deals and lack of transparency. Fort Worth and the service area of the TRWD is the one who lost last night, two politicians were re-elected to an office that sorely needs honest, ethical and trustworthy Public Servants. This is by no means over. We have shown a light on poor management, cronyism and questionable integrity of the GM and all but one of the Board Members. We will continue to support Mary and we will continue spreading the message because two years comes quick and we have 2 seats and Mary's re-election to Win in 2017!! Stand Strong, continue the fight and spreading the word !! Thank you so very much for the support, guidance, prayers and belief, now let's keep this momentum going !! Happy Mother's Day and again, Thank you !!

---------------------------

I think I may give up. Does revoking my voter registration get me out of possible jury duty?

Another Stormy Saturday In Texas In More Ways Than One

As you can see via my patio view of the outer world this second Saturday of May is dark and stormy at my location on the planet.

Even so, I was able to have myself a mighty fine time getting wet early this morning in that turquoise body of water.

Today is the long awaited election day in Texas, where there is very little to vote on.

I am not voting today because I already voted.

So far, other than swimming, today has been taken up by being frustrated by problems with migrating a website to Go Daddy.

There will be no Town Talking for me today. Or bike riding or hiking.

If a loud thunderstorm strikes up around 8 tonight it would be a good visual audio metaphor for the hoped for historic revolt taking place in the Tarrant region today.....

Two Fort Worth Leader's TRWD Board Election Voter Advisory

To the Taxpayers and Voters in Tarrant Regional Water District:

Most of you are aware that Saturday, there is an election for two seats on the Water Board, and three persons are challenging the two incumbents.

When Don Woodard, a prominent Fort Worth Democrat, and Steve Hollern, a former Republican County Chairman, agree on this matter, you know it is a bi-partisan issue.

Here are some facts:

• The race is about water – returning the TRWD’s focus to it.

• The race is not about five Dallas billionaires supporting the incumbents. And it is not about a wealthy East Texas landowner supporting some challengers.

• The race is about crony capitalism. It is about taxpayers funding infrastructure so developers can build without having to provide the infrastructure normally required of them.

• The race is about the Water Board loaning around $250,000,000 (million) to the Trinity River Vision (TRV) because the TRV is not and will not be self supporting without taxpayer funds. In fact, the tax increment financing district supporting the TRV had to be extended from 15 to 40 years to provide needed funding.

• The race is about spending almost $1 billion for economic development when our roads and local infrastructure are sorely in need of those dollars for repairs and expansion.

The Water Board’s initial charter called for flood control and water supply for the needs of our community. But in 2005, State Rep. Charlie Geren snuck a bill through the Legislature that empowered the TRWD to engage in economic development, condemn private property, borrow money, loan money, and own business property. As a result, water rates have continued to rise while valuable taxpayer dollars are being diverted to build a restaurant (awarded to an operator in a no-bid contract) and engage in other commercial activities that are not related to flood control or water supply.

Actually, the proposed TRV bypass channel will create flooding issues that require holding ponds to prevent downriver flooding.

For these and many other reasons, we support the election of Craig Bickley and Michele Von Luckner. Please make an effort to get to the polls and cast your vote for these two outstanding individuals who have pledged to return the Water Board to its original mission.

Maverick Mary Kelleher In FWBP Article About Vile TRWD News Release Lies

Yesterday I learned of the latest bad behavior of the TRWD desperadoes so desperate to keep control of the TRWD Board in the Star-Telegram, I mean, Star-Telegraph, in a blog post titled Did the TRWD Just Lie to Voters?? Again??

Is that propaganda mouthpiece for the 7th Street Gang, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, telling its readers about the TRWD press release that brought about the latest clash?

Likely not.

Though I have been told that the Star-Telegram's Bud Kennedy mentioned the TRWD news release lie on Facebook.

The Fort Worth Business Press told  its readers about the TRWD's misleading news release in Water board, challengers clash over news release.

Part of the controversy over this TRWD press release is that the Lane and Leonard incumbents are quoted, rendering this news release a piece of unethical campaign propaganda.

When I read the FWBP article I copied three paragraphs which addressed the incumbent quote controversy...

Lorance told Fort Worth Business Press that the decision to quote Lane and Leonard was a matter of convenience.

“As far as Marty and Jim being quoted, Vic (Henderson) and Jack (Stevens) were not available,” Lorance wrote in an email to the Business Press. “In fact, Marty was at the office for a committee meeting when the release was being prepared.”

Maverick board member Mary Kelleher said Lorance did not attempt to contact her.

I know for absolute fact that Mary Kelleher was available to be contacted yesterday. Which renders the TRWD spokesperson's contrary claim one more TRWD lie.

I was going to mention that Mary Kelleher being a Maverick part of the FWBP article, but someone beat me to commenting on that, on Facebook....

John Spivey

55 mins ·

The vile TRWD resorts to lies, phony PR releases (quoting only incumbents in the race), sending out taxpayer funded glossy 'reports' (really, campaign brochures) ONLY TO ELIGIBLE VOTERS in the district. Upside: New nickname for Mary Kelleher emerges from this article: "Maverick". You are Maverick, from this point forward, Mary! VOTE Craig Bickley and Michele Von Luckner! You can/should vote for BOTH!

Unlike · Comment · Share

What I was going to say about referring to Mary Kelleher as a Maverick is that doing so is a rather telling commentary as to what is wrong with the current TRWD Board.

The one person on the board who is an actual public servant, not a crony of the 7th Street Gang, not a member of the Fort Worth oligarchy, is a Maverick in the TRWD herd of five, where four of the five are not public servants, but instead serve moneyed cronies who benefit from having them do the TRWD's business the Fort Worth Way.

If two more actual Public Servant Representatives of the People types join Mary Kelleher on the TRWD Board will Mary Kelleher still need to be a Maverick?

What with the People then having majority control of the board....

Leonard & Lane's TRWD Toilet Ad Has Me Asking Have They No Sense Of Decency?

Can not a day go by without fresh propaganda from the TRWD board incumbents, Leonard and Lane, falling out of my mailbox?

And why is all the L & L propaganda so one note? And information lite?

As opposed to the TRWD incumbent's opposition, Craig Bickley and Michele Von Luckner's, reach out to the voters, with B & VL coming across like human beings who are trying to communicate with words which makes sense, not senseless, shameless propaganda sloppily trying to manipulate and monger fear.

Today's L & L mailer screams VOTE SATURDAY so voter apathy does not  flush our future water.

Methinks it has been voter apathy which has had the TRWD Board in its current corrupt state due to the voters not electing anyone, who represents the people, rather than the local special interests, until the last TRWD Board Election when Mary Kelleher got elected with the most votes ever in a TRWD Board Election.

Today's L & L mailer is warning voters that if you don't vote this Saturday, we're likely to get our future drinking water from here, With here being the toilet to the right of the warning in the mailer.

Does this type fearmongering strike you as responsible discourse coming  from public officials wanting you to re-elect them?

No?

Me neither.

The TRWD incumbent's propaganda reminds me of something that happened 60 years ago, but seems like only yesterday, when irresponsible fearmongering by a corrupt politician named Joe McCarthy led to Senate hearings which captured the attention of America to a television level which had not happened before.

The most famous moment of those hearings came from a man, Joseph Welch, who had had his fill of Joe McCarthy, and uttered words which I will slightly paraphrase to render applicable to today and the TRWD incumbent's propaganda.....

Leonard and Lane, may we not drop this? Let us not assassinate character any further. Leonard and Lane, you have done enough damage. Have you two no sense of decency? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?

The Senate chamber erupted in cheers, along with TV viewers across America.

I suspect a similar cheering reaction will be happening in the Tarrant Region soon after 8 this coming Saturday evening.....