I got your name from a friend. I am relatively new to this county. I am a Republican and have been all of my life.
I do not want to be overly critical and upset any of what has been wonderful progress for Republicans since I have been here. I would like to know if my perception is correct however. When I read this website my understanding is that the website i-dineout.com has been a mostly pro status quo defender of this county’s Democrat Party.
From what my friend says this website has been a game changer and made the local radio and newspaper think twice before reporting things the way they have for years.
The reason Im writing this letter to the editor is… I went to the Liberty County GOP Website and want to know, why does the Liberty County GOP website have a link to i-dineout on there? Where I am from our GOP website only puts links up to conservative websites. The site is http://libertycountygop.org/
If our county GOP website wants to put a controversial website up they would be more likely to put up someone like Liberty Dispatch. We would never advertise for a liberal website like i-dineout. What is the thinking on this by the party’s leadership? Where is the chairman on this decision? What kind of influence does Liberty Dispatch have in helping the leadership understand that no other Republican website in America would put a link up to this liberal they have on the local website.
Please reply. Post this letter if you want to, but please reply.
HINCH SAYS HIS OFFICE IS NOT GUILTY- BUT LEAVES US WONDERING ABOUT D.A. MIKE LITTLE'S OFFICE
When the subject of how to divide up the nearly $40,000 seized in illegal game rooms, County Attorney Wes Hinch explained to commissioners’ court Tuesday that there are specific state laws that regulate the use of seizure funds by law enforcement agencies.
Apparently in response to complaints about the secrecy of both the county attorney’s and the district attorney’s handling of seizures, Hinch began his public defense by saying “There is no slush fund”. Hinch’s evidently prepared a rebuttal and decided to use the commissioners’ court for answering his detractors who have been questioning for months why he does not have to publicly account for every dime of money his office makes through their hot check collections. Rather than account for the money, Hinch claimed hot check money funds 50% of his department.
Hinch’s offered as proof of his innocence a legal rendering of the law about when counties seize funds that were used in felony drug trafficking cases, gambling proceeds and money collected from fees charged for hot checks, officials like him can legally spend that money on training, legal education and can also be used by law enforcement officials in undercover operations to purchase narcotics. Hinch (ignoring the fact most taxpayers work Monday through Friday and that few are accountants or lawyers) welcomed anyone to review the records of the fund usage by his office.
So what did taxpayers learn about the way Hinch has spent money from seizures. They learned if they want to take a day off and bring their lawyer or their accountant Hinch says they can look at his books. Taxpayers have been left with no explanation of why the nearly $2,000,000 of money currently controlled by D.A. Mike Little and the hot check money collected by Wes Hinch.
Even if we simply consider the way Hinch pointed to ways the money can be used, we are left with more questions than we had before. The first question would be about the SUV said to be paid for by these funds from seizures and also said to be casually driven around by D.A. Mike Little. Is that legal? Who pays for the gas? Where can he drive this vehicle? Is it okay he parks this at his house? Is he claiming this on his income taxes? Hinch’s little speech in commissioners’ court should make us more suspicious about Little’s use of the money than ever before.
Lawyer/politicians telling the public to just come down and look at their records is nonsense. These two men need to come clean and put out a public accounting of OUR MONEY. How much money has been taken in? Taxpayers deserve a detailed accounting of incoming and outgoing money.
Hinch telling us how the money “should” be spent has some holes in it too. First, and most obvious, is the unanswered question whether it was spent within the rules. Second, has there been an abuse within the rules. For instance, has an unreasonable amount been spent on training – trips and hotel rooms and expenses that qualify as “training” could easily been abused.
But let’s simplify for Hinch and Little. While our readers deserve open and honest government and answers to all of these questions, with we want to start with three items:
1) An explanation of Little’s SUV.
2) An explanation from Liberty County DA Mike Little of where he has spent seized monies for the past ten years.
3) The cessation of excuses about how we are too broke to deal with the county’s juvenile problem and action on this matter.
Next time Hinch stands up to “speechify” and pretend to be leveling with the taxpayers of this county, how about covering these three questions. We are prepared to get behind Hinch if he will quit making excuses and quit blaming his lack of action on the budget or anything else. But Hinch is well over halfway through his first term and if is unable to question Little about an Little's "Slush Fund" and SUV many of us see him drive and if he is not going to deal with our youth, we need to elect someone who will do this job.
Apparently in response to complaints about the secrecy of both the county attorney’s and the district attorney’s handling of seizures, Hinch began his public defense by saying “There is no slush fund”. Hinch’s evidently prepared a rebuttal and decided to use the commissioners’ court for answering his detractors who have been questioning for months why he does not have to publicly account for every dime of money his office makes through their hot check collections. Rather than account for the money, Hinch claimed hot check money funds 50% of his department.
Hinch’s offered as proof of his innocence a legal rendering of the law about when counties seize funds that were used in felony drug trafficking cases, gambling proceeds and money collected from fees charged for hot checks, officials like him can legally spend that money on training, legal education and can also be used by law enforcement officials in undercover operations to purchase narcotics. Hinch (ignoring the fact most taxpayers work Monday through Friday and that few are accountants or lawyers) welcomed anyone to review the records of the fund usage by his office.
So what did taxpayers learn about the way Hinch has spent money from seizures. They learned if they want to take a day off and bring their lawyer or their accountant Hinch says they can look at his books. Taxpayers have been left with no explanation of why the nearly $2,000,000 of money currently controlled by D.A. Mike Little and the hot check money collected by Wes Hinch.
Even if we simply consider the way Hinch pointed to ways the money can be used, we are left with more questions than we had before. The first question would be about the SUV said to be paid for by these funds from seizures and also said to be casually driven around by D.A. Mike Little. Is that legal? Who pays for the gas? Where can he drive this vehicle? Is it okay he parks this at his house? Is he claiming this on his income taxes? Hinch’s little speech in commissioners’ court should make us more suspicious about Little’s use of the money than ever before.
Lawyer/politicians telling the public to just come down and look at their records is nonsense. These two men need to come clean and put out a public accounting of OUR MONEY. How much money has been taken in? Taxpayers deserve a detailed accounting of incoming and outgoing money.
Hinch telling us how the money “should” be spent has some holes in it too. First, and most obvious, is the unanswered question whether it was spent within the rules. Second, has there been an abuse within the rules. For instance, has an unreasonable amount been spent on training – trips and hotel rooms and expenses that qualify as “training” could easily been abused.
But let’s simplify for Hinch and Little. While our readers deserve open and honest government and answers to all of these questions, with we want to start with three items:
1) An explanation of Little’s SUV.
2) An explanation from Liberty County DA Mike Little of where he has spent seized monies for the past ten years.
3) The cessation of excuses about how we are too broke to deal with the county’s juvenile problem and action on this matter.
Next time Hinch stands up to “speechify” and pretend to be leveling with the taxpayers of this county, how about covering these three questions. We are prepared to get behind Hinch if he will quit making excuses and quit blaming his lack of action on the budget or anything else. But Hinch is well over halfway through his first term and if is unable to question Little about an Little's "Slush Fund" and SUV many of us see him drive and if he is not going to deal with our youth, we need to elect someone who will do this job.
DEMOCRATS CHOOSE TO BE LAME
We don’t often run jokes. But this one made us laugh out loud, so we thought we’d share:
A Republican entered a restaurant in a wheelchair one afternoon and asked the waitress for a cup of coffee. He looked across the restaurant and asked, “Is that Jesus sitting over there?”
The waitress nodded “yes,” so the Republican requested that she give Jesus a cup of coffee, on him.
The next patron to come in was a Libertarian with a hunched back. He shuffled over to a booth, painfully sat down and asked the waitress for a cup of hot tea. He also glanced across the restaurant and asked, “Is that Jesus over there?”
The waitress nodded, so the Libertarian asked her to take Jesus a cup of hot tea. “My treat,” he said.
Another patron, a Democrat, came into the restaurant on crutches. He hobbled over to a booth, sat down and asked for a cold beer. He, too, looked across the restaurant and asked, “Isn’t that God’s boy over there?”
The waitress nodded, so the Democrat directed her to give Jesus a cold beer. “On my bill,” he said.
As Jesus got up to leave, he passed by the Republican, touched him and said, “For your kindness, you are healed.” The Republican felt the strength surge back into his legs, got up, and danced a jig out the door.
Jesus passed by the Libertarian, touched him and said, “For your kindness, you are healed.” The Libertarian felt his back straightening up and he raised his hands, praised the Lord, and did a series of back flips out the door.
Then Jesus walked towards the Democrat, just smiling.
The horrified Democrat jumped to his feet and screamed, “Don’t touch me! I’m collecting disability!”
A Republican entered a restaurant in a wheelchair one afternoon and asked the waitress for a cup of coffee. He looked across the restaurant and asked, “Is that Jesus sitting over there?”
The waitress nodded “yes,” so the Republican requested that she give Jesus a cup of coffee, on him.
The next patron to come in was a Libertarian with a hunched back. He shuffled over to a booth, painfully sat down and asked the waitress for a cup of hot tea. He also glanced across the restaurant and asked, “Is that Jesus over there?”
The waitress nodded, so the Libertarian asked her to take Jesus a cup of hot tea. “My treat,” he said.
Another patron, a Democrat, came into the restaurant on crutches. He hobbled over to a booth, sat down and asked for a cold beer. He, too, looked across the restaurant and asked, “Isn’t that God’s boy over there?”
The waitress nodded, so the Democrat directed her to give Jesus a cold beer. “On my bill,” he said.
As Jesus got up to leave, he passed by the Republican, touched him and said, “For your kindness, you are healed.” The Republican felt the strength surge back into his legs, got up, and danced a jig out the door.
Jesus passed by the Libertarian, touched him and said, “For your kindness, you are healed.” The Libertarian felt his back straightening up and he raised his hands, praised the Lord, and did a series of back flips out the door.
Then Jesus walked towards the Democrat, just smiling.
The horrified Democrat jumped to his feet and screamed, “Don’t touch me! I’m collecting disability!”
LITTLE AND HINCH AND ITEM #23
WE THE PEOPLE could all be thinking about District Attorney Mike Little and County Attorney Wes Hinch this week when the county commissioners come to item #23 on the commissioners’ court agenda.
Item #23 will be a discussion about where nearly the $40,000 confiscated by law enforcement during raids of local illegal game room needs to be appropriated. The amount of money and where the money goes will be a matter decided openly.
District Attorney Mike Little has not been nearly as open about the amount and the use of the much larger amounts his office has seized. One source says Little has accumulated and currently has at his disposal between one and two million dollars outside of the money he has in his Liberty County budget. The large amounts of money Little has already spent and what he has spent it on are such a tightly held secret that no one is talking about it despite the fact Liberty County is in a budget crunch. The District Attorney has come under fire however. It was recently revealed Little is driving a new SUV thought to be purchased from these funds and not included as part of his compensation for his work as District Attorney. That revelation and a serious discussion about Little’s controversial and sizable budget increase and a conservative approach to spending taxpayer money may have led to the newly elected Republicans stepping in and cutting his budget a few weeks ago.
County Attorney Wes Hinch also has a fund he dips into besides the money appropriated to his office in the county budget. Hinch has the same deal with the hot check collections and the money that generates. Hinch, perhaps more than any other public official ought to have a place he dedicates all of his “off budget” funds. In fact, Hinch ought to be begging for some of Little’s cashola. Hinch is now infamous for pointing to a lack of funds to prosecute and juvenile crime.
Between $1,500,000 and $2,000,000! And please don’t talk about sitting on that money “like a good conservative”. This is the amount on hand. It keeps rolling in as law enforcement’s success leads to WE THE PEOPLE being able to force criminals into inadvertently helping fund the legal system. But why is this money, OUR MONEY, not openly accounted for? Why hasn’t some of it been used to help us pay employees at the courthouse instead of threatening to lay people off? Why is it not being used to hold young people accountable before they are emboldened to commit more serious crimes?
It’s outrageous how Little and Hinch- one Democrat and one Republican, both hiding money and neither doing what they can for our young people. Maybe they can legally hide money and maybe they can refuse to deal with our wayward teens, but WE THE PEOPLE, both Democrats and Republicans, can look for someone who will do this job like a public servant, rather than politicians full of excuses.
ITEM #23
DISCUSSION AND TAKE ACTION REGARDING AGREEMENT BETWEEN CITY OF CLEVELAND AND LIBERTY COUNTY REGARDING DISBURSEMENT OF FORFEITED PROCEEDS:
TEXAS STAR GAME ROOM - $4,429.75,
CHERRY BOMB GAME ROOM - $6248.00,
HWY 59 TELECONNECT GAME ROOM - $3,815.00,
BLUE DIAMOND GAME ROOM - $6182.00,
321 CONNECT GAME ROOM - $2390.00,
BEACHES #I GAME ROOM - $6570.39,
BEACHES #2 GAME ROOM - $2020.00, AND
CINDY'S GAME ROOM - $5476.00
Item #23 will be a discussion about where nearly the $40,000 confiscated by law enforcement during raids of local illegal game room needs to be appropriated. The amount of money and where the money goes will be a matter decided openly.
District Attorney Mike Little has not been nearly as open about the amount and the use of the much larger amounts his office has seized. One source says Little has accumulated and currently has at his disposal between one and two million dollars outside of the money he has in his Liberty County budget. The large amounts of money Little has already spent and what he has spent it on are such a tightly held secret that no one is talking about it despite the fact Liberty County is in a budget crunch. The District Attorney has come under fire however. It was recently revealed Little is driving a new SUV thought to be purchased from these funds and not included as part of his compensation for his work as District Attorney. That revelation and a serious discussion about Little’s controversial and sizable budget increase and a conservative approach to spending taxpayer money may have led to the newly elected Republicans stepping in and cutting his budget a few weeks ago.
County Attorney Wes Hinch also has a fund he dips into besides the money appropriated to his office in the county budget. Hinch has the same deal with the hot check collections and the money that generates. Hinch, perhaps more than any other public official ought to have a place he dedicates all of his “off budget” funds. In fact, Hinch ought to be begging for some of Little’s cashola. Hinch is now infamous for pointing to a lack of funds to prosecute and juvenile crime.
Between $1,500,000 and $2,000,000! And please don’t talk about sitting on that money “like a good conservative”. This is the amount on hand. It keeps rolling in as law enforcement’s success leads to WE THE PEOPLE being able to force criminals into inadvertently helping fund the legal system. But why is this money, OUR MONEY, not openly accounted for? Why hasn’t some of it been used to help us pay employees at the courthouse instead of threatening to lay people off? Why is it not being used to hold young people accountable before they are emboldened to commit more serious crimes?
It’s outrageous how Little and Hinch- one Democrat and one Republican, both hiding money and neither doing what they can for our young people. Maybe they can legally hide money and maybe they can refuse to deal with our wayward teens, but WE THE PEOPLE, both Democrats and Republicans, can look for someone who will do this job like a public servant, rather than politicians full of excuses.
ITEM #23
DISCUSSION AND TAKE ACTION REGARDING AGREEMENT BETWEEN CITY OF CLEVELAND AND LIBERTY COUNTY REGARDING DISBURSEMENT OF FORFEITED PROCEEDS:
TEXAS STAR GAME ROOM - $4,429.75,
CHERRY BOMB GAME ROOM - $6248.00,
HWY 59 TELECONNECT GAME ROOM - $3,815.00,
BLUE DIAMOND GAME ROOM - $6182.00,
321 CONNECT GAME ROOM - $2390.00,
BEACHES #I GAME ROOM - $6570.39,
BEACHES #2 GAME ROOM - $2020.00, AND
CINDY'S GAME ROOM - $5476.00
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