In May 2007, the Texas Senate tried to get HB 218 to a floor vote for
passage.  HB 218 was a bill that required a Texas voter to present a valid
ID card with a photograph when that person wanted to cast a ballot in an
election.  The bill was an attempt to combat voter fraud in Texas elections.
The bill was defeated by the Democrats in the Texas Senate where it died
when the Texas Senate adjourned.

Earlier this month the Democrats held their state convention in Austin.  It
is ironic that Democratic delegates to their own state convention had to
produce a valid photo identification card to get their credentials for the
floor and caucuses.  Was this procedure put in place to assure only elected
delegates from their county conventions attended?

It would appear the Democrats wanted their convention fraud-free from
unauthorized attendees but when it comes down to a general election by Texas
voters the same standards to assure a fraud-free election does not apply.



David D. Andrews Sr.
Merkel, Texas

Voter Fraud in Texas is alive and well. Here are some numbers as published by the Texas Conservative Coalition http://www.txccri.org .

In 2007, a former Port Lavaca city councilwoman was convicted for assisting non-citizens in registering to vote.

Since 1992, Harris County has cancelled 3,742 registered voters because they were not citizens; 683 of those non-citizenship cancellations have occurred in the past seven years.

Between 2003 and 2005, 303 people were removed from the voter rolls in Bexar County because they were not citizens. Forty-one of these non-citizens voted in local, state, and federal elections.

From September 1999 to March 21, 2007, Dallas County cancelled the voter registration of 1,889 individuals because of non-citizenship. Before being deleted from the voter rolls, 356 of those individuals had voted in Dallas County.

In El Paso County, 213 non-citizens were removed from the voter rolls between January and October 2006.

In Tarrant County, 584 non-citizens have been removed from the voter rolls since 1999.

At least 6,731 non-citizens have registered to vote in Texas, and at least 391 non-citizens have illegally voted.

In 2007, the State Auditor identified 49,049 registered voters who may be ineligible to vote, including 23,114 possible felons and 23,576 who may be deceased.

In Texas, the legal system selects its jury members from the Texas Department of Public Safety (Drivers License) and the voter rolls. When a jury notice is sent to people who have registered to vote or who have driver’s license and those people go before the judge to be excused because they are not citizens then they are identified as being illegal aliens.

Some races in local communities are won or lost by the narrowest of margins. As you can see, Voter Fraud is indeed a real issue in Texas and other states.

David D. Andrews Sr.

Merkel, Texas 

It is amazing what you can find on the DNC web site regarding “Energy Independence.” Here is a cut and paste from the web site:

Energy independence is something that both sides talk about, but it's an issue where the old Republican Congress simply failed to lead. Now the Democratic Congress is taking up the issue, offering bold ideas to reduce our nation's dependence on oil by significantly reducing our oil consumption.

This week, the Senate begins debating legislation to "increase the fuel economy of cars and trucks and boosting the use of non-petroleum fuels like ethanol." According to ABC News, the legislation currently being considered would:

• Require that vehicles get 35 miles on the gallon by 2020. This would increase by 4 percent every year.
• Authorize the Energy Department "to make loan guarantees for fuel-efficient vehicle manufacturers and related parts suppliers."
• Increase the use of renewable fuels to 8.5 billion gallons in 2008, and to 36 billion gallons by 2022.
• Give the federal government "more authority to go after oil companies that manipulate gasoline supplies and overcharge consumers at the pump."

I am not a geologists, I am just a simple accountant with, in my opinion, a good sense of “Good Ole Common Sense.” The majority of nations in the world are Energy Dependant on Middle East Oil. So how does one become Energy Independent? Well, no pun intended, if you have oil in your nation then go after the oil. The United States has enough oil in the ground – Alaska, Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic and Pacific Coasts and Texas still has a whole-lotta-oil left. Securing this oil would make us Energy Independent. But it is a finite resource. 

Let’s say we do reach the moment of Energy Independence. Then and only then can we aggressively require vehicles that get 35 miles per gallon. We can make those loans for fuel-efficient vehicle manufactures and increase renewable fuel usage.

It does not make a bit of sense to have a goal of Energy Independence from Middle East oil when we have the required amount of oil within our reach and under our feet and in the United States.

The Democrats idea of leadership is to have the American people continue to pay a high price at the pump hoping in 10 to 20 years the vehicle manufactures will make a car capable of 35 miles per gallon and everyone buys one. Also, the Democrats want you to wait until the technology to develop renewable fuels to 36 billion gallons by 2022.

OUR ENERGY INDEPENDENCE IS WAITING UNDER OUR FEET!!!!!!!!!  

Today’s decision by the Supreme Court of the United States regarding the constitutionality of mandating voters to show a valid state or federal ID photo when going to the polls is a win for the American people. The number one right for all Americans is the right to vote and have a representative type government of the people and its will. Opponents against the requirement of a photo ID card did not like the court’s opinion that voter integrity is key to a free election and reduces voter fraud. Americans can be assured that when a vote is cast in the states that require a photo ID a free and fair election is being held. The argument that the poor and elderly will be left out of the voting process is misguided. Anyone can obtain an acceptable photo ID in any state at a nominal charge. People who drive an automobile already have a photo ID. Those that do not drive can get an Identification Card issued by the state.

If anyone has a beef about Identification is people who have credit cards. More fraud is associated with credit cards than with a voting election. But the credit card companies do not care about credit card fraud because they pass the loss to the credit card consumer in the form of interest rates. Businesses that accept credit cards also pay a fee for the transactions when the credit card holder makes a purchase. When credit card fraud occurs the business gets paid but the credit card holder gets their money back. The bank that underwrites the credit card is stuck with the charge but the bank just passes the loss to the credit card holders in the form of fees and interest charges. So in essence, credit card holders get burnt even if it was not your card that was used fraudulently. An easy fix to reduce credit card abuse in most transactions is to have a photo of the card holder on the credit card. The convenience store clerk can look at the picture before he processes the card and if the picture shows an attractive blonde with baby-blue eyes and the person passing the card is an over-weight non-shaven and brown eye person with an Adams apple then the store clerk may ask for a second ID…………..Hmmmm, it’s not rocket science on this one.

David D. Andrews Sr.

  Most everyone would know a veteran is the person who raises their right hand promising to defend the United States Constitution against foreign and domestic foes.  I have to agree.  Even though that makes every solder, sailor, marine, and guard a veteran, I believe most are overlooking the other “veterans.”  These are the parents, wives, husbands, grandparents and children of the veteran.  In my first four years as an enlisted member in the United States Air Force, I was deployed overseas on 90 day TDYs (temporary duty assignments) twice a year.  I was in a C-130 aircraft flying wing.  My new bride had to stay behind and somehow cope with being a new bride away from her parents as a nineteen year old in a strange city.  Later in my career, she had to worry about me going off to the desert in the first Gulf war not knowing if her husband was safe and hoping a blue staff car with military officers wearing their blue suits do not pull up in the drive way.  When I got home from the war she confided in me that she would watch the late news trying to get a glimpse of me on a video clip and when I never turned up on the news she would cry her heart out, most nights.

Yes, I am a United States Veteran but my dear wife of almost 33 years is also a veteran and she has paid her dues in tears, in worries, in raising our kids when I was away.  So Sunday, if you see a veteran, thank him or her……… and thank his spouse too.

David D. Andrews Sr., SMSgt, USAF (ret.)