Carl Parker's archive

Follow the money

A recent edition of the New York Times revealed the results of an investigation. It showed that lobbyists in Washington are spending more than $3 billion per year lobbying Congress. A recent analysis conducted by former Agriculture Ctommissioner Jim Hightower identified amounts of money spent on lobbying in campaign contributions by category. His report was broken down by financial institutions, pro sports, radio, television and publishing companies.

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Straining gnats, swallowing camels

In looking over recently introduced measures in the current session of the State Legislature, I discovered H.B. 1819. The bill was offered by Bryan’s state representative, Kyle Kacal. The bill provides a cause of action if a homeowner harms or kills a goat. Although that seems appropriate for the representative from the area of Texas A&M, I am given to wonder why the Legislature appears to have more concern for animals than it does many of the people of Texas.

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Random political musings

Texas’ newest United States senator is attracting quite a bit of attention in Washington. Apparently, Ted Cruz is stepping on lots of toes in his early entrance into the good ole boys club known as the United States Senate. Recently, Cruz was criticized for inferring former Sen. Chuck Hagel, the president’s selection for Defense Secretary, had taken money from Iran, Saudi Arabia and/or North Korea. He further alleged Iran had celebrated the nomination of Hagel as Defense Secretary of the United States. The allegation concerning Iran’s celebration turned out to be patently false.

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