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Volume XVIII Number 11 - August 1, 2019     RSS Feed   

A Periodic Newsletter for Committed Texas Conservatives

In This Issue

Enough Is Enough

The I-45 $7 Billion Project, Do We Have Options Before We Jump?

The Harris County Bail System, Time Will Tell If Citizens Got A Good Deal Or A Bad One

Words Matter By Brian Ettinger, Contributing Editor

Maybe We Are Old Fashioned, But We've Had It With Politician's Tweets

On Judicial Elections

Red, White and Blue
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Gary Polland
1533 W. Alabama St.,
Houston, TX 77006
(713) 621-6335
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Thoughts This Fortnight

Enough Is Enough

Let's see, let Robert Mueller do his investigation and after two years the report is issued. Then the Democrats and their media allies said we need the unredacted report and they got it and a handful of congressmen actually read it. Then they said we need Mueller's testimony and he testifies and there still is no evidence of President Trump's collusion with Russia. Now the latest, they want secret grand jury testimony.

In their madness to get President Trump they are in favor of ending the presumption of innocence, taking the position that without a prosecutorial exoneration one is still tainted, and ending confidentiality of grand jury testimony, all in an effort to remove President Trump from office.

Their behavior is delusional and they are doing the country no good at all. Can we just move on?

The I-45 $7 Billion Project,
Do We Have Options Before We Jump?

We at TCR are concerned about all the massive interchange and connecter road construction in the Houston region with massive projects at 610 and 59, 288 and 610, and 45 into downtown. It is fair to ask for an intelligent review of cost vs. benefit and explore the options. The approximate cost of just these three projects is over $8.3 billion!

The fact is we are not going to be able to build our way out of our traffic congestion on our highways alone.

The Harris County Bail System, Time Will Tell If Citizens Got A Good Deal Or A Bad One

It started as a way to help poor non-violent offenders to get out of jail and not get stuck in our system. Unfortunately, the deal neglects giving the District Attorney's Office the resources to do its job efficiently, full funding for diversion programs or solving the chronic courtroom problems continuing in the two years since Harvey.

By the way, nowhere in this deal are the rights of victims of crime considered, nor is public safety any consideration at all!

We will follow what happens but fully expect crime rates in Harris County to increase as the deal goes far beyond poor non-violent first offenders, without real consequence for not showing up in court or picking up multiple offenses or reoffending.

TCR asks, do law abiding citizens matter in the equation at all?

Words Matter
By Brian Ettinger, Contributing Editor

In our current American political climate if you disagree with someone's opinion, they call you a racist as your opinion does not matter. Words have meaning. The "N" word is synonymous with disgracing a race of people. In history, concentration camps are synonymous with Nazi death camps. Now, the politicians use the words concentration camps to define detention facilities for illegal migrants. For those idiots in the media and public officials to compare concentration camps to the current situation at the U.S. border shows a lack of intelligence and lack of history. Today, our elected public leaders and the so-called educated media need to understand American history which evolved despite a checkered history of slavery, violence, and restricted laws on Americans. We, as a society showed a lack of understanding and compassion at times in our history. From the massacres of Native American tribes, to slavery, World Wars to a change of morals and ethics by Supreme Court decisions to reflect the growth of our diverse society with a moral compass and a sense of belonging together. Today all of us have equal chances if we accept the adage "work hard" and try to learn and be better than the previous generation. Do not forget that compassion, respect for others, listening to other peoples' points of view and not calling them racist or use of physical violence just because you do not agree with their views is not what America strives for.

If this liberal progressive thinking comes from our education system, then it has failed us. Words do matter, so think and express yourself, your views and ideas but listen to others and do not shoot them down. This is not what a civil society should be, but I see on television and social media the beating up of a media reporter by Antifa, who cover their faces and use violence to express their self-serving point of view. They should not be cowards and cover their faces. We have a right in this country to protest but a city or town can pass an ordinance limiting the size of a protest without a mask or a hoodie to shield their identity. They have the right of protest but seeing and knowing who they are is not an infringement on their rights. So, words do matter and our younger generation is not learning the words that do matter; respect, compassion, acceptance, expression of thought without violence, education and a system that teaches our history, good and bad, and not changing it to suit your needs. Without these words and its meanings, it will only lead down a destructive path and our society will only get worse and our future generations will not know the meaning of these words.


Brian Ettinger is a practicing attorney and contributing editor to TCR. He is a strong conservative who is concerned about America's future.

Maybe We Are Old Fashioned,
But We've Had It With Politician's Tweets

President Trump loves to tweet. At times it is about the dialogue and other times it is a distraction and muddles the message. Others do it, but really, how intelligent a discussion can be held with a limit of 280 characters? None.

The most recent comments about Baltimore were clearly not racist and just because the Democrats and their media allies say it is doesn't make it so.

But the comments were unnecessary and didn't add much to our political discourse.

On Judicial Elections

As many readers know, your editor supported Republican Chief Judge Tom Phillips' efforts to make judicial elections non-partisan.

The sweeps for both parties over the last 20 years in our major Texas counties bring in the good and the bad and sweep out the good and the bad.

Here's an idea, why not have the best and brightest serve as our judges regardless of party affiliation?

If we follow this concept for 2020, any of our incumbent judges who were regarded as fair and impartial, experienced (having tried cases in the court they want) or have served previously with distinction should not be rolled out of office on the whim of voters who in the past blindly vote straight ticket without knowing who they are voting for.

Good judges are a precious asset for our judicial system and we need to covet them, not toss them out.


TCR on the Air

Red, White, and Blue featuring TCR Editor Gary Polland on Fridays at 7:30 pm on Houston Public Media TV 8, replaying Saturday at 6:30 p.m. on Channel 8, Monday at 11:30 pm on Channel 8.2 and on the web at www.houstonpublicmedia.org.

Red, White, and Blue now this summer features the best of Red, White, and Blue. Shows are available for streaming at Houston Public Media.

About Your Editor

Gary Polland is a long-time conservative and Republican spokesman, fund-raiser, and leader who completed three terms as the Harris County Republican Chairman. During his three terms, Gary was described as the most successful county Chairman in America by Human Events - The National Conservative Weekly. He is in his twenty-second year of editing a newsletter dealing with key conservative and Republican issues. The last eighteen years he has edited Texas Conservative Review. As a public service for the last 16 years, Gary has published election guides for the GOP primary, general elections and city elections, all with the purpose of assisting conservative candidates. Gary is also in his 18th year of co-hosting Red, White and Blue on Houston Public Media TV 8 PBS Houston, longest running political talk show in Texas history. Gary serves on the Board of Directors of American Values, a national pro-family, pro-faith, conservative organization supporting the unity of the American people around the vision of our founding fathers and dedicated to reminding the public of the conservative principles fundamental to the survival of our nation. Gary is a practicing attorney and strategic consultant. He can be reached at (713) 621-6335.

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