"Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government."

Texas' Election Primary Update

2012-02-15T17:50:00.001-06:00

(02/15/2012) SAN ANTONIO - The Texas primaries, which were once key to emerging from next month's Super Tuesday elections with the momentum and backing to win the Republican presidential race, may be pushed into May - and perhaps out of relevance for the race - because of a dispute over the state's proposed redistricting maps.

Although the chances of an April primary are not officially extinguished, even the judges acknowledged those prospects are fading because of logistics. Elections workers from some of Texas' largest counties are pushing May 22 as the next earliest date if maps can be settled quickly.

U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez at one point suggested that June 26 may make the most sense for the primary elections. That would make Texas among the last states in the nation to hold a primary but would also ensure that maps would reflect any Voting Rights Act issues that a Washington court is still deciding.

But Democratic and Republican party officials said they would prefer a vote in late May.

Other news sources are reporting a primary target date of May 29, 2012. No Texas Primary Election date has been written in stone as of today.

TWO LOSERS PREDICT WHO WILL WIN THE SHERIFF’S RACE

2012-02-14T20:23:00.009-06:00

Often you will see my name and then a comma and then “Former three term Liberty County Republican Party Chairman”. For people that have lived here a long time and know any the history of Liberty County politics, holding this elected office is no claim to fame. It is just a claim to being active longer than most. In fact, if others want to put it in the fewest words, holding that title guaranteed they could call me one more “loser” in a long line of loser chairmen. Over 100 years of nothing but losing is what I signed up to try and help change. And my chairmanship, along with the people that ran on the Republican ticket before 2004 was - well we were forerunners at best to what is now the dominant party in the county. We had that one victory that we pointed to and said that would be the start of the Republican Party being the dominant party in Liberty County. That victory was Bobby Rader. He knew the odds were against him and that if he ran as a Democrat he could probably win easily, but Bobby is not that kind of person. He made a clear statement. That he "read both platforms and watched both parties" and he "identified with the Republican party... win or lose.”

One of the candidates that ran back in those days was Eddie Shauberger. He ran for County Judge and then for State Representative several times. I was the County Chairman when he was seeking office. Recently Mr. Shauberger made a calculation. He heavily invested himself and his time in an all out effort to re-elect Henry Patterson sheriff. His efforts and the efforts of others who either do not live in Liberty County or they have just recently moved here, are far and above the efforts most people have ever made to elect someone. I had no idea Shauberger had such a personal interest in the sheriff’s race until I hinted that I would support Bobby Rader. I knew Mr.Shauberger tried to use our friendship and the idea an incumbent almost always wins to twists my arm to support Patterson. And I also knew Mr. Shauberger was relentlessly trying to sell Ray Akins on the idea almost every Republican would go to the polls and vote for the incumbent. I knew he kept saying it would be good for him and Ray to be associated with Patterson and the Outsiders. It was weird how his focus almost seemed to be solely on this race. We had no idea why it was so important to him. Our alliance and our commitment to each other was to work hard to elect the best conservatives we could find ("no matter what happened to us") – but Shauberger never argued anything but some mysterious personal interests.

Readers could stop here and say who cares who we were for, but (even though I agree) again I beg you please read on. I made up my mind early that even though this might be an ugly political year that most anyone that knows Bobby Rader knows he is not only a good man, but a highly qualified energetic man that could help make our sheriff department better. Since Ray had met with Harry Patterson several times I thought I better get busy if I wanted to convince Ray to vote for Bobby. But it wasn’t long before Ray went from a skeptic to a Rader backer. Ray was easy to convince. I told him to consider Patterson’s record and that definitely helped. Then I pointed to Rader’s experience and the general public feeling and my personal knowledge that Rader has a great deal of integrity and… their record of party affiliation was important because it helped prove his integrity: “Rader ran as a Republican and risked everything when he could have won as a Democrat while Henry ran the first time as a Democrat”.

Ray switched to being a Rader fan early, but told me not to tell Eddie because he did not know what Eddie was up to but that this race had some kind of unusual hold on him. We played along with Eddie but thought we knew his motivation must go beyond some ridiculous idea that ANY sheriff could help the legal problems involving Eddie’s company. The legal cases would be completed before the outcome of all these elections. (Read further and find out how that our suspicions that Eddie was abnormally committed to this race were verified!)

I tried to get a feel for the race so I could change Eddie’s vote. I addressed Eddie’s issues – Eddie had said Pattterson was an incumbent and that incumbents almost always win. He called him a shoe-in. But as I began to do my research as near as I could tell there were no prosecutors in the District Attorney’s office or the County Attorney’s office who thought Patterson deserved re-election. The County Clerk, the District Clerk, the”Black Robes". Nobody I talked to seemed impressed with the job Henry Patterson was doing as sheriff. As a matter of fact, on the streets talking to average people when I could more openly ask people about the race, I rarely found anyone that would say they were voting for say “Patterson”, almost 100% said Rader. So I tried to persuade Mr. Shauberger that if his intent was to work to elect the person most of the people in the courthouse and in Wal-Mart, and at the ball game were voting for, then he had the wrong side. Whatever his point about “Being on the same side as the Outsiders was” I still don’t understand. Other than he told Ray and me over and over he was helping them investigate a long list of Liberty County citizens.

Here is what I want people to know (not who Richard Pegues is voting for or who Eddie Shauberger is voting for– people could easily look at my track record as Chairman and Eddie’s track record and say who cares – these two men are losers. But they should also look at my record of activism and conclude my interests are what they have always been... like or not, I have worked to elect Republicans for almost two decades and it has cost me, not benefited me). I want you to know while Shauberger was still acting like a good friend, he was recording meetings he had with us and meetings he had with Bobby Rader. He was telling people my wife is a “whore” and that I used her and political connections to get our son out of trouble years ago. He was cursing my name as bad as any sailor has ever cursed a man. He was doing this while he was calling Bobby Rader “brother”. He was doing this to me and my family – when the closest thing we have come to any kind of public scandal is our public defense and friendship with Eddie Shauberger. He was doing this while he was stiffing Ray Akins and leaving him paying almost all of the legal bills and still lying to Ray about his ownership in IHHC years later. He was doing this while he was being ordained a Baptist preacher down in Oak Island.

When I arranged to meet Mr.Shauberger and to attempt the steps set out in the Bible to settle differences, I knew he was taping me. I very purposely made sure to mention several times what he called my wife and the threats he made toward my son and how it made me feel like hitting him in the face. I tried to make sure this man would have a chance to listen to his stupid tape and think how some jury he was preparing for or his buddy the Sheriff would view HIM in the tape. I tried to give him a chance to stop whatever devious plan he was involved in. I tried to get him to stop calling my wife names and threatening my family when he knew I had done just the opposite of what he was saying he would allege if I continued promoting Rader on the internet. But Shauberger shut the tape off eventually and admitted what he had done (I have proof of what he said without his tape). But later he said if I try to bring blackmail charges or defamation charges against him, he will play his tape. My conclusion: he was not there to come clean and stop whatever it was he was up to. He was there to try and get something to fight off a possible lawsuit. He must have loved me saying “What I ought to do.......”. He must have really thought it was clever saying what poor health he was in and how me saying I felt like punching him in the face caused him so much angst. This man who had the audacity to say what he said about my wife and say half the courthouse was involved in some plot to make a teenager’s case turn out like almost every other similar case,was now saying he was somehow the victim?

Whatever Mr.Shauberger is up to it appears to be more comprehensive than we originally thought. He has laughed at Ray and me for reminding him to stick with our original pact and push to elect the best conservatives we can elect. He has focused on the legal problems he has connected to his ownership of a home health care company. He has now been heard bragging that Rader will be shown to be associated with Ray Akins and that he has cut all kinds of deals with people in his criminal and civil lawsuits to make Akins take a fall right before the primary. He has also intimated in the past that they “Will make Bobby look like a real slime-ball before election day”. And in case you haven’t seen it this group of terrible people have already used the internet to cover me with all kinds of reasons I should lose my job and go to jail. All lies. All baseless and ridiculous.

Politics can be an ugly business. Especially when good ole boy politics is being uprooted. Mr. Shauberger and a very imaginative, very black-hearted re-election team have plans for getting people to see people the way they need them to. They have plans to continue to demonize two easy targets – Ray Akins and me. And we accept their attempts to lump us in with some of the people who truly have committed criminal acts around here as part of the price of being so involved. We are honored to have served as a decoy from some of the public officials they have clearly prepared to target..... even though their tactics seem like they add up to an ignorant political strategy

But it is the next stage that is not acceptable. The effort to divert attention away from all of those reasons people have in the back of their minds of why we need a new sheriff. The effort to whitewash and embellish Patterson’s record as sheriff and to suddenly come up with all kinds of new revelations never before heard about a long time justice of the peace - it is all too much! We are proud to say we would like Rader to be elected sheriff - just as we thought the best candidates in the last election were Brown, Shivers, Morefield, Chambers, Cain, Warner, and others. It is too much to say what these people are suggesting. They want to tell voters our support of Bobby Rader is a reason to vote for Patterson because there is not any better reason to vote that way.

Contributor, Richard Pegues

CULT LEADERS MAKE MOVE TO INFILTRATE LIBERTY COUNTY

2012-02-12T20:00:00.017-06:00

As our readers are aware we posted a recent story on one of the leaders of the “Outsiders” named James Donald Farmer. He is a candidate who signed up to run for Liberty County Attorney against the incumbent Wesley Hinch. Farmer’s "Permanent" scam address is a vacant garage apartment on 2621 1/2 Cos Street in Liberty Texas. The Farmer story we published is -here-.

2621 1/2 Cos Street, fake vacant scam candidate address of James Donald Farmer

James Famer is the legal mind and right hand of the “Outsiders” leader Clifford “Fuddy” William. Again, Liberty Dispatch has also published a story related to Clifford “Fuddy” William -here- and his questionable and bizarre prior candidacy for Texas Supreme Court Justice without a law degree. James Farmer listed his "Permanent Address" as the scam/false 2621 1/2 Cos Street address- on government documents -here-.

Younger picture of James Farmer 40's

The real question about the “Outsiders” cult seems to be why Liberty County? The answer to that question lies with current Sheriff Henry Patterson. Many allegations swirl around why Patterson invited the “Outsiders” into Liberty County but one thing is for sure, he did invite them into Liberty County. The main reason Patterson invited the “Outsiders” into Liberty County was to help in the defense of Sheriff Patterson’s close friend, ally and Lieutenant, Harry Kelly. Patterson told people he was “In over his head” and felt like he needed to bring in the “Outsiders” cult. As of this date it is clear that Patterson brought in the “Outsiders” out of desperation and has effectively sold his soul to them. Sources indicate that Patterson knew the “Outsiders” cult had success evading and harassing the IRS/Agents and could help him with his perceived Liberty County Government enemies. Sources also indicate that the “Outsiders” cult is an anti-tax splinter anti-government group comprised of Clifford “Fuddy” William’s different churches. It is alleged that Henry Patterson illegally paid Clifford “Fuddy” William under the table as a “Consultant” to help in the investigation and arrest of Liberty County ADA Joe Warren. Outsider underlings Eddie Shauberger along with Robert “Eggplant” Valdez perpetrated an illegal investigation against Joe Warren -here- then ran to open a blog “after the fact” to make it look as if they were news investigators, when in reality they were doing illegal investigations for Henry Patterson without a Private Investigator’s license.

Side note: To date, Henry Patterson has refused to make an accounting of his 2011 and 2012 slush fund/assets...

The “Outsiders” cult has obviously figured that since they are defending “defunct loser” current Sheriff Henry Patterson, they might as well create their own list of candidates- overtly and covertly. Liberty Dispatch has identified many of the “Outsiders” cult political candidates in our “Do not vote list”. Liberty Dispatch was told by reputed “Outsiders” cult writer/underling Roberto Francisco “Eggplant” (tax cheat) Valdez that the “Outsiders” cult want to make Liberty County their national base of operations but needed to “own” the Liberty County Government.

Somehow or another “Outsiders” cult leader Clifford “Fuddy” William along with his wife Shirley Thomas has acquired lots of Liberty County property formally owned by John Stockton and Russell Fairchild. All the properties are titled in the name of “Shirley Thomas”. Liberty Dispatch is suspicious that maybe John Stockton and Russell Fairchild have become unwitting victims of the “Outsiders” cult.

Shirley Thomas' scam candidate address, 2944 Hwy 105 Cleveland Texas. Many "Outsiders" using this address.

As for Shirley Thomas, Clifford “Fuddy” William’s wife- It is very odd that no part of her name connects to William in any way. Either they aren’t actually married or they have a marriage of some questionable convenience. Shirley Thomas has been witnessed as sitting in on private “Outsiders” meetings and making decisions as a reputed “Outsider” cult leader.

Clifford "Fuddy" William's truck used when he visits Cleveland. Truck listed in alias name.

Going back to the fact that the “Outsiders” cult are now running their own candidates in Liberty County it’s interesting to note that Shirley Thomas is running for Liberty County Republican Judge Precinct 2. What’s bizarre is how she is scamming Liberty County just like James Farmer. You will see the picture below of the many travel trailers the “Outsider” cult has moved into Liberty County. From this link you will see that Shirley Thomas is using the address where the cult travel trailers are parked- she listed this address as her "Permanent" Liberty County Judge Precinct 2 address -here-. Her address is just like that of “Outsider Leader” James Farmer, a scam on Liberty County voters and Republican Party along with making false statements on government documents according to records.

Probably even more disturbing is the Liberty County property “Shirley Thomas” has listed in her candidate form is filled with travel trailers of more probable “Outsiders” cult members moving into Liberty County.

Clifford "Fuddy" William and Shirley Thomas' property and alleged "Cult Temple" in the background.

If no other candidate signs up to run against “Shirley Thomas” as the Republican Party Precinct 2 Chair, she will win that position and the “Outsiders” cult will own another piece of the Liberty County political machine.

Shirley “Hunt” Thomas like James Donald Farmer, both “Outsider” cult members are trying to pull a fast one on Liberty County and the voters should be concerned. They are also trying to inject their sinister dogma and control into Liberty County through threat and intimidation.

NOTE: CLICK ON EACH PICTURE TO ENHANCE.

IS THE EGGPLANT A FRUIT OR A NUT (CASE)?

2012-02-11T21:58:00.004-06:00

“The Eggplant That Ate Chicago” is a psychedelic jug band song about alien invasion by Dr. West's Medicine Show and Junk Band. Recently, a citizen of Liberty County told Liberty Dispatch that the weird imagination and the deceptive rhetorical efforts of Fresno Texas’ own Robert Valdez efforts to shape Liberty County politics remind him of the this song that is on “top fifty list of all-time weirdest songs.” Here are some of the lyrics:

For he may eat your city soon.

You'd better watch out for the eggplant that ate Chicago,

If he's still hungry, the whole country's doomed.

He came from outer space, lookin' for somethin' to eat.

He landed in Chicago. He thought Chicago was a treat.

(It was sweet, it was just like sugar)

You'd better watch out for the eggplant that ate Chicago,

For he may eat your city soon (wacka-do, wacka-do, wacka-do)

You'd better watch out for the eggplant that ate Chicago,

If he's still hungry, the whole country's doomed...

When asked what specifically about the song reminds them of what they have read by, or read about Robert Valdez, here was the reply:

“Well, while Valdez is obviously one of Sheriff Patterson’s biggest fans, there is not much else about him that will be remembered here after Liberty County votes in the April primary. It is like he and his buddy Fuddy and his amigo Eddie feel like they are some grand accomplished conquering special ops team invading Liberty County under cover of darkness and anonymity. When it is all said and done most people in this community will never have read one word of his blogging or have even a hint of all of his lame investigating, but right now he and his whacko friends are roaming around like they should be feared and like they have single-underhandedly made it clear to us all that Henry Patterson is the greatest sheriff in the universe.”

Voters in Liberty County may only know of Robert “Eggplant” Valdez because of reading about him on here. Unless his wacka-do world successfully twists the election in Liberty County, this article may be the only claim to fame he has in Liberty County to any kind of fame.

Good night “Eggplant”. Try to go to sleep even though you are excited someone mentioned your name again.

Dear Liberty Dispatch.

2012-02-11T21:13:00.000-06:00

In a world full of irony and in an election year full of deception, I must say we have some folks here in Liberty County that have some nerve to ask voters to believe their crazy nonsense. The most recent nonsense they are promoting is that this website has constantly aimed its criticism at the deputies in the Liberty County Sheriff’s department.

Liberty Dispatch has written and written and written about Sheriff Patterson and what they have called a cult-like group of men that are influencing him and they have not once in the two years I have been reading pointed their writing at any of the deputies in the Liberty County Sheriff’s department. They have talked about the morale in the department created by an almost endless investigation of their own department by Sheriff Patterson and Steve Green. They have questioned and poked at the decisions made to hire captains from outside the county that already have problems on their work records.

Is he serious? Is Sheriff Patterson actually going to sit quietly and allow his campaign team to deflect the criticism many of us have for him and his leadership and his choices towards the men and women who risk their lives daily to protect and serve? Is he going to push the complaints about him over to the men and women who make less than half of what he is paid and who are just trying to put food on the table for their families and keep their bills paid?

And is he going to allow this crazy attempt that passes on negative implications about the department to the lowest rookie deputy on the totem pole so his political team can try to sell him as their defender? You have to be kidding me. The deputies in the LCSO have a pretty good reputation these days. I have gone back and looked at Liberty Dispatch’s articles about the LCSO and they are almost all zeroed in on the leadership.

So here is a suggestion to our sheriff. Stop the politics. Show up for work. Show up at crime scenes. Show up to things that show your deputies you care. Tell your media consultants to take a break. Talk to the public yourself and let us know what is happening in the criminal world. I can see why you probably don’t like Liberty Dispatch, but please realize real live people write into and read this website and you have a whole lot of changes you need to make to earn the support we freely gave you last election.

Name withheld due to possible reprisals by Henry Patterson and his cult group supporters.

DISTANCE YOURSELF FROM THE BULLY SHERIFF PATTERSON

2012-02-10T22:08:00.001-06:00

From its inception, one of the main goals of Liberty Dispatch was to tell the other side, or the rest of the story that was never carried by a local media that seemed perfectly satisfied with having a leadership role in protecting the good ole boy system in Liberty County. That goal was accomplished early on as people wrote in to the comment section and began to voice their concerns and their suspicions and their experiences that up until the advent of this medium were never given a place to be seen and heard by a larger audience. While Liberty Dispatch has never claimed to be perfect and the comment section has been an easy target to be criticized as everything from “just the comments of a small handful of radical misfits” to “people spreading unfounded gossip”, we should all be able to now say the other side of many situations is no longer buried under the ego and agenda of a few “news people”.

In an odd twist, Liberty Dispatch is now aware that we were used and abused by one individual and we inadvertently had the effect some of the local media has purposely had for many years around here. The effect referred to here is the effect a media outlet can have as an intimidator or as someone everyone tries to stay on the good side of. That can be a good thing, if that role is used to encourage people to do the right thing. In fact, the whole concept of the freedom of the press protected in the Bill of Rights is to force people to always consider what they are doing could have the scrutiny of the public eye because tomorrow’s newspaper may tell the world about it.

Now that more people are beginning see that Liberty Dispatch has become one of the main targets of the threats and intimidation of Eddie Shauberger as he brags about spending his time and efforts working on “Outsider investigations” for Henry Patterson, we are starting to hear things we never knew went on with Shauberger. More specifically, we are beginning to hear that Shauberger has enjoyed intimidating people long before he and the Outsiders started all of their “investigations” aimed at our local citizens.

Tuesday February 7, 2012 Liberty Dispatch began to hear from law enforcement about Shauberger:

“It had gotten so bad out in Hardin that if there was a Shauberger involved, I passed the case on …….” one member of the Liberty County Sheriff told us.

After multiple troubling events having to do with one of Shauberger’s sons and law enforcement deciding to just back off and not do what they normally would do because of Shauberger’s intemperate threating attitude, the law finally was forced to confront the growing Shauberger problem. The boy was finally arrested for breaking into a church and the school.

A law enforcement officer told us this week that he knew if Eddie Shauberger was involved and he was confronted in an incident, he felt it was probably not worth confronting him because of all of the trouble Shauberger could cause.

When asked what kind of trouble, the officer looked up and said, “It use to be trouble on the internet.” When asked about what kind of trouble now, the officer said, “let me put it this way, I would rather someone else deal with that man.” When asked if the officer was referring to Shauberger’s friendship with Sheriff Patterson, the officer declined to comment further.

Liberty Dispatch was founded to give WE THE PEOPLE a chance to effectively confront public officials’ abuse of office and misuse of the power and assets taxpayers entrust them with and to fill the hole a complacent and sometimes complicit local media has left open. Shauberger used, and is stilling using, different people to achieve his own selfish and sometimes perverted goals. While it is true it took a parting of the ways with Shauberger before we heard of his bullying, we are now aware of his behavior. We wish we had been told these stories before, but we are glad to no longer count ourselves among his list of enablers.

We challenge Sheriff Patterson to publicly disavow Shauberger and to distance himself and any efforts Shauberger and the Outsiders have from our sheriff’s office. We also challenge Sheriff Patterson to publicly lay down the law and to enforce it concerning anyone doing “investigations” in the name of Liberty County and anyone violating the civil rights of anyone in this community.

CANDIDATE: Libby Simonson for JP 1

2012-02-08T13:29:00.001-06:00

Libby Simonson is pleased to announce her candidacy in the upcoming Republican Primary Election.

She is seeking the position of Justice of the Peace Liberty County Precinct 1. Libby will be on the ballot in boxes 5, 6, 18, 19 and 27.

This is a judicial position that requires real life experiences and common sense.

Libby Simonson will be tough on dangerous criminals and repeat offenders, but will be compassionate with families in conflict. The Justice of the Peace sets the amount of bonds and she will protect your family.

Libby is a strong advocate for public safety and will make a difference and keep your family safe. Libby will work closely with the District Judges to ensure that no bond is set too low.

She will listen carefully and will rule fairly based on the law and the facts.
Libby Simonson currently serves the citizens of the City of Liberty as a City Councilwoman.

She is a college graduate with a degree in Business and has been a successful small business owner for over 30 years.

Libby has lived in Liberty County for over 30 years. She is married to Al Simonson.

Libby and Al have a large family and have always worked diligently in and with the community.

Libby Simonson is a serious candidate and is a strong and decisive individual who will work hard to make our community a safe community.

Libby Simonson asks for your support and vote in the upcoming Republican Primary for the position of Justice of the Peace Liberty County Precinct 1.

FARMER’S HAS NO FURNITURE AND NO CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORT

2012-02-06T22:45:00.002-06:00

James Farmer, the Houston attorney recruited by Sheriff Henry Patterson’s campaign gurus, has failed to file the campaign finance report that was due weeks ago. According to officials within the County Clerk’s office, Farmer called and admitted he knew it was overdue. He was referred to the internet to get the blank forms, but he continues to be missing in action.

According to eye witnesses, the residence James Farmer claims in his campaign finance report continues to be empty. This mysterious man from Houston continues to fuel speculation that Sheriff Henry Patterson will either abandon his bid for re-election or distance himself from the people who have caused so much chaos in his campaign by pulling in Farmer and making other major tactical blunders such as telling voters to vote for everyone Liberty Dispatch was against. Or announcing his intention to run for District Attorney and then signing up to run for County Attorney. Strange moves by strange people.

The public is yet to see a picture of James Farmer or a political sign but Liberty Dispatch has been told repeatedly that money is no object to the people driving the Patterson and Farmer campaign.

REBUILDING OAK ISLAND STRONGER THAN BEFORE

2012-02-05T12:31:00.000-06:00

The oak tree has always been a symbol of strength and resilience and deep rooted permanence. Oak Island, the small coastal community a few miles south of Anahuac and the community hit hardest by Hurricane Ike, wears the name of the mighty tree well as they continue to provide sanctuary to people after the storm. Oak Island has not only survived the bad weather, they have strengthen their culture and given their community more choices and one of the most obvious examples of that is obvious as you drive through town and look at the new construction on the left.

Long after Ike has blown threw and long after all of the government money has been spent and the news cameras have shown the carnage of the disaster, anyone traveling to Oak Island can look at a flat, previously barren field and see how hope for many has begun to spring forth on long solid peers of wood anchored above the flood plain. Mark and Darlene Pagels have stood tall in their community as they have clung to the all-powerful God they serve through all of the struggles that have come, and continue to come Oak Island’s way. Like a port in the storm three crosses stand in the breeze of the gulf wind reminding us of the painful death Jesus endured with a thief on each side of Him. Behind the crosses passersby can see the tangible evidence of a church building, The Christian Fellowship Church, which was berthed long before by God Himself in the hearts of the Pagels. This place is a sanctuary where storms are kept on the outside, a place where the peace and joy of serving our mighty Creator is promoted by faithful servants.

The people of Oak island can look back at a time when their houses may have been lost but a time when many rediscovered their faith. This community may have smaller savings accounts but they have come through a historic storm and decided to build up their treasure by strengthening their faith. The Pagels are examples of a community that will never give up, but they instead they have decided to look up. The Christian Fellowship Church is a great place to invest one’s time and their efforts as God through His church seeks to show His love and His power in a sin torn world of hurting people.

SHERIFF HENRY PATTERSON’S CAMPAIGN SUGGEST WHO VOTERS SHOULD ELECT

2012-02-04T21:11:00.008-06:00

In a strange move for a politician, Henry Patterson’s supporters are now suggesting who voters in Liberty County should vote for in ever race. Here are their picks:

SHERIFF:
Henry Patterson (?)
(OUTSIDERS' CANDIDATE)

COUNTY ATTORNEY:
James Farmer (?)
(OUTSIDERS' CANDIDATE AND OUTSIDER LEADER)

DISTRICT ATTORNEY:
Logan Pickett (?) (They really hate Joe Warren)

COMMISSIONER PCT. 1:
Todd "Obama" Fontenot (D)

COMMISSIONER PCT. 3:
(OUTSIDERS' CANDIDATE)

JP PCT 1.:
Larry "Wacko" Wagnon (?)

CONSTABLE PCT. 3:
Darrell Wayne Elliott (?)
(OUTSIDERS' CANDIDATE)

CONSTABLE PCT. 6:
James McQueen (?)
(OUTSIDERS' CANDIDATE)

In addition, Patterson’s people suggest that Judges Cain, Chambers, Morefield, and McNair should be defeated next time. Also District Clerk Donna Brown and County Clerk Paulette Shivers should be defeated.

Readers may have noticed Patterson’s people are against everyone Liberty Dispatch is for. We can only assume that means Patterson will return to his Democratic Party roots and support Barack Obama since we are for the Republican nominee.

Reader Letter to LD

2012-02-04T21:06:00.000-06:00

Liberty Dispatch readers need to read this letter we received and decide for themselves what to make of of it. We will let our readers decide whether this is the little pro Patterson people trying to plant inaccuracies so they can come back and point their finger at us or if the letter has legitimate complaints. Neither can we speak to the accuracy or truthfulness of the letter to Liberty Dispatch. If the story is true, the actions of Sheriff Henry Patterson should be a real concern to the people of Liberty County.

I am only a citizen and I live in Cleveland Texas in Montgomery County area, but I am concerned about the neglect going on with Liberty County Sheriff's office. This specific issue concerns a missing person's case. Larry Baker of Cleveland Texas, missing in Liberty county Texas since Jan 29. 2010. It came to my attention that 2 informants have reported to Sheriff's investigator Brian Bortz that they had specific knowledge that Larry Baker was killed and was buried at his residence at 400 Co. Rd. 325 Plume Grove Rd., Cleveland, Texas. Informants gave the name Kelly Nickerson as the one who committed the murder of Larry Baker and afterwards buried his body at the above residence. Kelly Nickerson (alleged murderer) was the brother in-law of missing man Larry Baker and Baker lived in a trailer on Nickerson's land so the they shared the same address. Kelly Nickerson has since died in Pa in a traffic accident and these informants waited until Nickerson left for his home town in Pa. before they reported what they knew. This was back in Sep. 2011 when it was reported to investigator Brian Bortz and it has been totally ignored by Liberty County Sheriff's office. I see no other way to do anything more about this except to expose the neglect of this case and maybe that will serve to get them moving to dig up the grounds. That's why I am contacting this media. I have also contacted Fox News of Houston but so far not heard back from them. I want to share the below story with you from "Missing Person's Of America". There has been little media on this story other than the first few days after he went missing. No other follow up.

I want these law enforcement officers exposed for their neglect on such important issues and I want them to do their work so I beg for you to expose this to the public.

Unnamed

THE FAMOUS MR. ED (Edward Shauberger)

2012-02-04T19:03:00.000-06:00

A favorite TV show among some of the baby boomers was a show called “Mr. Ed”. I remember the popular show and the catchy words to its theme song just like it was yesterday:

“A horse is a horse of course, of course, unless of course, the horse, the horse is the famous Mr. Ed”.

The show was about a talking horse. And for the purpose of this article, it reminds me how valuable the gift of talking can be. How bumping your gums a certain way can make you stand out. And in Mr. Ed’s case, how much trouble it can get you in.

One unmistakable trait of a flim flammer is their gift of gab. A flim flammer is someone who deceives; tricks; swindles; cheats. A real good flim flammer can fool everyone around them, even themself sometimes. If you ever hear someone is a flim flammer, the first thing you can test to verify the label is whether or not they have the golden smooth tongue of a salesman. If they don’t, they are no flim flammer. And if they do, please realize these people may appear to make great dinner speakers or politicians, but there is ultimately nothing about them that most would consider “great”.

Tragically, the worst of worst flim flammers leaves a trail of destruction behind them, ruining other people’s finances and their reputations. They destroy lives. But sooner or later, if they live long enough, the flim flammer always ends up ruining their own life. When a community discovers who they are, when a wife and children are forced to deal with who they are, flim flammers are usually abandoned. All they are usually left with is another lie or another trick to try and convince someone, maybe anyone, that they are not what they really are. Then the lies and deception all start over again.

The IRS usually ends up after an extreme flim flammer. Hot check writing, repossessions, bankruptcies, separations or divorce, and even jail time or prison – all part of the past, present, or future of the flim flammer. He almost always moves from one set of friends to an entirely new set because it is impossible to keep up appearances at some point. If he is a salesman, he moves from one company to another. If he is a preacher, he moves from one unsuspecting flock to another taking advantage of people’s goodwill and protective nature towards men of the cloth.

But their world can be ever-narrowing if all of the people burned by them ever collude and hear the width and depth of lies that have been told.

Such is the life of Edward Ross Shauberger… aka Mr. Ed.

PATTERSON NEEDS TO GO TO WORK AND STOP ALL OF THE POLITICS

2012-02-02T20:53:00.002-06:00

The Cleveland Advocate broke a story this Thursday that finally sheds some light on a drug case Sheriff Henry Patterson and his political team tried to hijack for the purpose of Patterson’s re-election bid. Within minutes of news that a civilian had led law enforcement to a large field of marijuana, Patterson’s people were bragging that this arrest would make Patterson a shoe in for re-election. Their effort to soak up all of the credit for this bust left their political geniuses scrambling when people started questioning whether the approach to the arrest was professional or if it was flawed because no arrests were made. Because of those questions, Patterson reacted to a local news reporter when asked about the whole thing by indicating he knew nothing about it. Since then Patterson’s spin machine has mostly promoted their defense of Patterson being involved in a big bust like this with no arrest by saying Patterson played a very small roll in this operation and he did not make operational decisions.

So now what..? After U.S. Attorney John M. Bales has announced that Roberto Bahena-Garcia was indicted on Jan. 25, 2012, and charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Well now Patterson’s people are back to trying to spin this whole thing. Now they have decided Liberty Dispatch has been lying and they seem to be working their way back up to taking credit for the arrests- amazing, with the DEA as the investigating agency according to documents that caused the federal indictments.

Liberty Dispatch never was really sure why our very controversial County Sheriff would think that he deserved re-election based on this case. According to information presented in court, on Oct. 16, 2011, law enforcement officers received a tip that led them to a large outdoor and nascent indoor marijuana-growing operation in the rural area of Hull, Texas. A visit to the property revealed more than 1,000 maturing marijuana plants on 225 acres on Private Road 2055, but if this is the best thing we can expect from our sheriff we are in trouble. What about this case makes Patterson think people will forget three years of, at best, a lackluster performance as sheriff and a public relations effort that made people cringe for the first two years.

If convicted, Bahena-Garcia faces up to Life in federal prison and forfeiture of the property and I guess we can be glad Patterson doesn’t appear to have screwed that up by being so political and trying to claim honors for what appears to be very little work.

If his political machine had not tried to make him a hero, then the tagline on the story would have eventually read, “This case is being investigated by DHS/HSI, Liberty County Sheriff's Office and Texas Department of Public Safety and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Craft.”

The Cleveland Advocate is very generous and takes law enforcement’s word when they share credit like this. Liberty Dispatch has never questioned this kind of division of credit up to now. But Patterson denied much of a role in this case when it looked like it was an arrest-free drug busts. We would suggest to our readers he should get the precise amount of credit he claimed at that time.

Stay tuned as Patterson’s political machine tries to twist and change minds as they are running a man that has decided he can pull in all kinds of outside help to try and make this community forget what we have seen from this sheriff for over three years. Instead of being consumed with the lives of other public figures like Joe Warren and a dozen or more other people his political team admits they have been “investigating”, Sheriff Patterson should be an early to work, late going home, visible, working lawman. If he wants to spin his political webs like we see coming out of Washington D.C., he needs to run for another office.

Liberty County has good hard working people “serving and protecting us”, but Henry Patterson and some of the reject captains he has hired are seldom counted in that group.

Danny Diaz: Local Game Warden Fired and Still Not Charged.

2012-01-30T21:44:00.005-06:00

Liberty Dispatch has decided to respond to questions about what has happened to this area’s longtime TDPS Game Warden Danny Diaz rather than be guilty of the kind of selective reporting much of the Liberty County media is guilty of and in order to make sure we are not part of a cover up because there are Republicans involved. The following are the alleged circumstances as we understand them that led up to and caused Danny Diaz to lose his TDPS badge.

As some readers may know, Danny Diaz’s most recent problems began a few weeks ago when he decided to pull his gun out of the holster and fire it several times up in the air in order to get the attention of some young people driving four wheelers on the sand in the river bottom. Diaz followed up his "dangerous act" by getting on his radio and reporting to the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office that shots had been fired. Needless to say Diaz’s actions caused a flurry as law enforcement responded to his call.

To date, though Liberty Dispatch’s understanding is that Sheriff Henry Patterson was encouraged to take charges action against Diaz for illegally "discharging his weapon" and "dangerous conduct" in a situation that clearly requires immediate action, no action was taken by the Sheriff even though the Sheriff arrived on scene and did not take Diaz's gun- something TDPS had to do.

To make matters worse, more recently Diaz was involved in an incident where he is now accused of trying to exact retribution. Diaz had arrested a man that happens to live near where he lives but the man wasn’t successfully prosecuted. This same man called the Liberty Police Department one day and complained that Diaz was following him and about to confront him and he did not think things would turn out very well – so please send an officer! When the officer arrived to find out what was going on he asked why Diaz was arresting the man and Diaz indicated he was just jacking with the man. Regardless of what was alleged, it was all caught on tape.

Unlike Sheriff Patterson, the people in charge of TDPS internal affairs in Austin responded quickly and Diaz was summarily fired and is no longer a game warden.

The possible problems with Danny Diaz do not end there however. Patterson and others in charge of law enforcement around here have a bad habit of allowing this kind of thing to happen and not doing anything to keep it from happening again. Unless Patterson pursues this further, Diaz could do like too many troubled officers have done around here and just move on to work for some other agency around here. If he does, Patterson’s lack of action might put people in danger and it may expose Liberty County taxpayers to a huge lawsuit if Diaz continues to behave the way he has. Henry Patterson's action clearly rise to that of a "good ole boy" mentality- all at the expense and safety of Liberty County citizens.

Unfortunately for Darla Diaz, Danny Diaz’s wife, this behavior cast a dark shadow on her bid to become the Justice of the Peace in the Liberty area Precinct 1 JP. The voters are not likely to want to put judge’s robes on the wife of someone with a reputation for retribution and they are not likely to put a gavel in the hand of someone who is married to someone who “jacks” with people, not with other good candidates on the ballot.

QUESTIONS THAT SHOULD BE NAGGING THE COMMISSIONERS

2012-01-30T01:56:00.001-06:00

The voters are left with at least three very serious questions that all could have something to do with money whether Henry Patterson is re-elected or not:

1) Why were their no arrests at those two huge fields of marijuana law enforcement officials were led to by a concerned citizen?

2) What would we see if we were handed a detailed accounting of how the assets were appropriated that came into the LCSO for the last three years?

3) Whose civil rights have been violated by “investigations” that can be linked back to the sheriff and were the people doing the work even licensed to do legitimate “investigations”? Did they receive any compensation or even an expense account paid for by the county?

All three of these questions nag at my mind when I think that these people have said they are “investigating” all three of our judges, the district clerk, at least two of our commissioners, the district attorney, the county attorney, one Liberty police detective, two justices of the peace, one constable and several private citizens. Our commissioners can ask these questions of Henry Patterson and since the city of Liberty’s attorney has made public one of the open record requests he has received from Robert Valdez, it may be wise for local officials to gather up all open record requests sent in to any department and call Patterson before them and get some answers.

COURTS LOOK FOR WAY TO GO FORWARD ON PRIMARIES WHILE RE-DISTRICTING SORTED OUT

2012-01-28T20:53:00.002-06:00

The Supreme Court handed the re-districting argument back to Texas courts and here is what they are saying about the primaries while they continue to look for a way to work out the disputed re-districting maps:

They will issue an order suspending the deadlines of the December 16th order.
They advised the political parties that they can inform party officials and candidates that the February 1st filing deadline will be vacated and that the drawing for ballot positions next week should be postponed.
They indicated that if the parties could agree on maps and submit those maps by February 6th, that an April 3rd primary was still obtainable. However, the court and the attorneys have been very specific that any agreement is not a settlement.
That if there was no agreement and maps were not drawn by February 6th, that an April 3rd primary would not take place.
In the event there is no settlement agreement and maps are not completed by February 6th, the court makes no present indication of when the new primary would be rescheduled.
In the event the parties cannot agree on new maps, the court requires them to submit advisories to the court as to which districts are still in dispute and the issues related thereto.
The court will then schedule future hearings if necessary and issue new orders if necessary.

Advisory to all Republican county chairmen, precinct chairmen, and party activists - As it is still a possibility that we will have a single unified primary on April 3rd, you can still continue your plans for an April 3rd primary as best as you can until at least February 6th. By February 6th, we should know whether or not we will have an April 3rd primary. Even if maps are not submitted by February 6th, there is still a possibility that a single unified primary could be held in mid-April if the court can draw maps by mid-February. It is unclear what will happen in the event that maps are not drawn by mid-February. We will let you know as soon as we know. We do expect there to be a new schedule issued with new filing deadlines, etc., once it is clear when the primary will be finally scheduled. The final primary date will not be determined until maps are ready to be issued by the court. This is all we know at the present time. Please stay tuned for further updates from the State Party - we will issue them as soon as we have additional information.

OUTSIDER CANDIDATE MAY ABANDON PATTERSON

2012-01-27T17:50:00.001-06:00

This week speculation has increased that a major political retreat is soon to come from Sheriff Henry Patterson and his relatively unknown Houston attorney who was set to run for either District Attorney or County Attorney here in Liberty County.

According to people on his campaign team, part of the effort to push voters to give Sheriff Patterson a second chance and a new four year term was having a struggling Harris County lawyer friend of the infamous Outsiders rent an apartment in Liberty and sign up to run for something and campaign with him.

Until recently Patterson’s team has stuck with the plan they hatched early this summer. James Farmer rented an apartment this summer so he can claim residency though he has no furniture in the apartment and he has not spent one night in it. He announced his candidacy for District Attorney a few months ago and was set to speak at political gatherings and tell voters to vote for Patterson. But when a change in plans occurred and Farmer signed to run for County Attorney instead of D.A. it began to smell “Fuddy”, I mean like Fuddy Williams the right arm of the Outsiders and, along with Eddie Shauberger, the Wizard of Oz behind the curtains for Henry Patterson. The Patterson re-election team’s strategy is expected to be as bizarre and secretive as Patterson having a group of people from outside the county come in and brag about “investigating” half the known world as they lurk in the shadows of the sheriff’s office firing off Open Records Requests as they gather information on Patterson’s enemies. In fact, these people are so strange speculation that James Farmer had changed his mind about helping the politically endangered sheriff began to swirl as Farmer’s political signs are yet to be planted in Liberty County soil.

Now more evidence that James Farmer is up to something has surfaced to cause speculation as Farmer failed to file his campaign finance report by the mandatory date of January 15, 2012. Farmer may withdraw his name from the race and Henry Patterson may not have a partner to run with. But who knows? Farmer may just not know the law or heck, Patterson could withdraw. Sheriff Patterson is yet to come clean and open up his records and publicize the specific of how he has spent the money and managed the assets of the slush fund created by confiscating convicted criminals’ belongings.

CLEVELAND POLICE DEPARTMENT

2012-01-26T21:27:00.001-06:00

A video that appears to show a Cleveland police officer pounding the abdomen of a subdued man that has already been handcuffed during a December 30, 2011 traffic stop is one more reminder of the kind of problems Cleveland has had for over twenty years.

The Cleveland Advocate posted a video on their website Thursday January the 26th showing Officer Paul Lowrey on a Cleveland Police Department dash cam hitting a handcuffed man in his midsection with a flashlight and then hollering at him to “do what he is (f**king) told to do.” Vanesa Brashier, the editor of paper, broke this story and reported that this case is currently under review. This story is worth reading and details of her story can be found at http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/cleveland/.

It is important for the traditional media to report stories like this rather than stay silent like the police chiefs and sheriff might hope… even if some might misinterpret it and rather than recognize them doing their job try and label them as anti-law enforcement. It clearly is part of their duty as professional journalists to report the good, the bad, and the ugly. There is plenty of good professional law enforcement and, if the facts of this case are what they seem to be, this is an opportunity to help purge the Cleveland Police Department of one of the few people that needs to find another line of work and to let the public know that high standards of behavior are being upheld.

The Cleveland Police Department and the community of Cleveland have been in bad need of positive change for many many years. The community’s faith and respect for law enforcement can only be healthy when they see unbiased investigation and appropriate action in matters like this. Though the Cleveland community is made up of many of the kind of wonderful people southeast Texas is famous for, their southern hospitality and neighborly country living is often overshadowed by a reputation for uncontrollable crime and scandals. The good people of Cleveland should not rest until changes are made and Cleveland’s potential is reached.

The most recent scandal was made more widely infamous by both local and Houston news media and federal agents. Former Cleveland PD Assistant Police Chief and current Liberty County Sheriff Henry Patterson and his sidekick in the Cleveland PD, Harry Kelly, both had keys to the room where evidence was kept in the CPD. Months and months of investigation in search of the facts surrounding hundreds of missing guns from that evidence room were the subject of many news stories and many rumors all around the county. When this case went to criminal court Patterson had already defeated Greg Arthur in the sheriff’s race; and Kelly had already been serving as one of his captains. Kelly is now serving time in the federal prison in Leavenworth, Kansas. With federal agents not being able to prove Patterson’s role in court, if he had any, he continues to serve as Liberty County Sheriff.

And Cleveland continues to have the same reputation. A community full of wonderful people, located in the beautiful pines near all of the things the big city offers, but still having the advantages of country living. Our hats are off to Vanesa Brashier for reporting this story, and our hopes are that the Cleveland PD, outside of any potential lawsuits, will start holding their officers to the highest of standards and fearlessly helping create a culture worthy of its citizens. It is a dangerous job that there is never enough compensation or enough praise and we salute the men and women who do it and perhaps sometimes feel the sting of criticism aimed at a few. You are our modern day heroes. Our goal is to support you and to give you the best leadership and the tools you need to have to do your job safely and with excellence.

WELCOMED, HARD FOUGHT CHANGE IN LIBERTY COUNTY POLITICS

2012-01-26T21:20:00.001-06:00

For those who are well informed, the recent activism of the movement known as the Tea Party is only a national version of what started in Liberty County in 1994. The purging of the entrenched good ole boy system led by runaway unaccountable elected local government officials and characterized by a tax and spend mentality is nearly complete here in Liberty County. This is not a declaration that we are anywhere near having a perfect government here or perfect elected officials. But this is a sigh of relief because gone are the days when whoever a handful of leaders of the Liberty County Democrat Party chooses to run in their primary are the unbeatable winner in the November election and the defenders of a system of wink and nod politics that had no oversight. Gone are the days when the entire media served as more of a guard dog than a watchdog for the status quo.

For local people who have become more politically active in the last five or six years, it may seem like change came quickly and relatively easily. And they may not know or care about the history of the war that appears we will win in the final battle coming up in November of this year. But it is important to know for a couple of reasons.

First and foremost, whether it sounds like self congratulatory hubris or not, if activists do not realize the role Liberty Dispatch played in holding people accountable and keeping the good ole boy system from using their pals in the media from doing what they did for decades, then they will be blind to the need to push harder for our local traditional media to stop picking winners and losers and forming unsavory cozy relationships to politicians.

Please pay attention. You may have come along at a time when someone else had dulled the knives of what had been an undefeated enemy to the conservative/Republican cause, but if we do not use this period of time when we have a new political beginning in this county to do what we can to fix this, then when we are not so unified and when new kingdoms have been built within our political structure – the media may again protect interests of the politicians instead of the people. It has not been that long ago when the media would broadcasts any and everything negative about Republicans and try and make Democrats look like they were God’s gift to problem solving – even if they had to blinders on to not know that some of the same Democrat they were promoting were scandal-ridden good ole boys that were more like bloodsuckers than public servants. If you were not involved then, you may have been the ears the media was assaulting and you may have been the mouth they were hoping to use to carry their message – “keep the status quo, Democrat ‘good’, Republican ‘bad’.” We all see a faint reminder of this in the radio station still working to whitewash the FEMA scandal and Phil Fitzgerald’s contribution to the county.

Rather than pat myself or my colleagues on the back, I am myself am hereby recognizing and saluting Ray Akins for taking the heat (including plundered mail boxes, selective prosecution, and all kinds of invalid unwarranted demonetization) at a very high cost. Of course, the openly liberal socialistic policies of Barack Obama and the statewide surge of the Republican party has had a huge influence on Liberty County politics, but Liberty County was fortunate to have in place an opposition political party active and outspoken and already equipped and experienced at running candidates. And Akins, with all of his unconventional and unafraid moves, was ready to force the media and unscrupulous politicians to think twice before doing what they have done around here for years. If you meet him, pat him on the back and listen careful. He is battle tough and you have to get past the same crust on him that enables him to keep slogging forward no matter how much is thrown at him, but his contributions, though distorted by our political enemies and the misinformed, have been crucial to our success. When our victories seem easy and our battles bloodless, you might want to remember the pathway has been blazed to a large degree before the last election.

Second, those of us that have been around for years have at times been frustrated in what has sometimes seemed like a lack of interests and sometimes seemed like wrongheaded uninformed ideas of exactly who the enemy of the change we desire has been. We fought on the front lines and worked hard to begin a foundation for the future we are now in and when the ones that received the proverbial bruises and cuts in the political arena have found common ground in a few of the people who were thought to be lifelong political enemies, we expect at least enough deference to be listened to rather than have new activists adopt without question the motivations assigned to us by those we all oppose. It has, at times, been exceedingly frustrating to hear people (who were not anywhere to be found until this century) allow some of our Republican leadership that has as its priority (by definition) the promotion of Republicans and the defeat of Democrats pick and choose who they were going to use their influence to help. We had a chairman of our party helping Democrats and much of the leadership of the party had to be circumvented in order to replace the misguided chairman. If the newer activist would have been known more about politics, we might still have the counterproductive leadership that was almost openly supporting some of our most notorious opposition. Worse than that, we had the chairman and some of his lieutenants with very little knowledge of past history, deciding who would be offered an olive branch and be invited to switch sides. And again, without asking longtime Republicans who bare scars from battle that should merit consultation, our leadership never took accounting of what crimes and misdemeanors had been committed by politicians they were courting.

We should all be thankful that we have survived those times when we were working against each other at times. We should all be thankful we are two commissioners and one District Attorney away from doing what the Tea Party has just begun doing nationally. After we have elected people to these positions that are not affiliated or connected to the good ole boys of the past, we enter a new day with new goals and new opportunities to heal this county from its past and to build a better community.

* Please note any attempts to use the Tea Party to promote local candidates in the upcoming Republican primary will clearly be done by people who are using the Tea Party for their own purposes. You may agree or disagree with Liberty Dispatch at times but we hope that you will listen to this warning and help stop all efforts to bastardize the good work the Tea Party has been doing. We welcome comments reporting any effort in any local primary race to try and drape a candidate in the Tea party cause in order to gain votes.

WHAT’S UP WITH ALL OF THE ELECTION DATE CHANGES?

2012-01-22T12:28:00.000-06:00

For those who have been too busy to stop what they are doing and find out why dates pertaining to the 2012 primary elections have changed so much, here is s short catch up article.

There are two competing sets of redistricting maps setting out proposed two different sets of borders of election districts in Texas for the State Legislature and the House of Representatives on the basis of the most recent 10-year census.
One set of maps was drawn by the Legislature, which is controlled by Republicans. Those maps seem to favor Republican candidates. The other set was drawn by a special three-judge federal court in San Antonio, and it increases the voting power of Hispanic voters and seems to help Democratic candidates.

Four House seats hang in the balance and all that is affected by the particulars of state and U.S. congressional lines. The justices have told the Texas courts that the judges have overplayed their role and the role their court should play in redistricting and to go back and use the maps the people elected to the state legislature chose as a basis.

As a result of the Democrats pulling out every stop they can to get their way, the primaries in Texas had already been moved back to April. For those primaries to proceed, officials there said, an answer from the courts was needed by Feb. 1.
It seems Democrats like to have the right to gerrymander when they are the minority just like they did for years when they were the majority. Almost all redistricting maps that are changed are changed to prevent racial discrimination. Democrats try to get the courts to interpret discrimination as they should at least the same percentage of seats for blacks (and for Hispanics) as their percentage of the population. Most Republicans are not as likely to want to categorize people in terms of race or any other category to form special districts.
This decision by the Supreme Court is seen by Republicans as a win for those who believe elected officials rather than judges are the ones the Constitution says should draw the lines. But the Democrats challenge is still having all kinds of bizarre effects on the election. The date of the primary is still unsure and who might be qualified to run for the state Senate or the state House or the U.S. Senate or the U.S. House in an area is still dependent on how the lines are drawn. No ballots can be printed until county chairman know who can run for these offices on their ballot.

The only thing for sure if you are a Democrat running for office in almost every place but the border area, this argument your side just lost at the Supreme Court was about your only chance to win anything. No wonder no one ran for Democrat Party Chairman in Liberty County – ‘Turn Out The Lights, Nancy and John, The Party Is Over”!

Conservative Republican Randy McDonald For Chambers County 344th Judicial District Judge

2012-01-20T22:15:00.003-06:00

Honorable Randy McDonald

Randy McDonald was born in San Angelo, Texas in 1951. Before college, he lived his entire life in Menard, Texas. During his high school years, he played all sports becoming All District and All West Texas in football. He was the student body president, as well as the first member of the Nation Honor Society. Randy graduated from the University of Texas and South Texas College of Law and moved to Houston. After passing the bar exam, Randy was appointed by Johnny Holmes as an Assistant District Attorney in Harris County, Texas. Randy quickly moved up the ranks and asked to join the special crimes unit. Mr. McDonald then became the Major Narcotics Prosecutor in the Organized Crime Section of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, he successfully prosecuted cases against legendary attorneys who were considered the best criminal defense attorneys in Texas.

After the District Attorney’s office, Randy went into private practice; where he was managing partner at Taylor, Eggleston, Goodwin and McDonald then Randy McDonald PC where he continues to practice.

Randy moved to Chambers County in 2005 and continued to have an office in Houston and opened a second office in Chambers County.

After having successful legal career, both as a prosecutor and defense attorney, Mr. McDonald feels that his trail experience would benefit the citizens of Chambers County as a District Judge.

Family:

Wife-Lisa; Daughter, Christina, and husband Kenny- Christina is a veterinarian assistant and the mother of my first grandchild, Kora; Daughter, Megan-Graduated with High Honors in May of 2011 from the University of Texas and is considering a master’s program; Son, Cody- will be graduating in May, 2012 from Sam Houston State University with a Criminal Justice degree; two rescue dogs, Buddy and Lucy and a cat Bevo.

Qualifications:

Former Assistant District Attorney under Johnny Holmes in Harris County; Special Crimes Prosecutor for Narcotics and Organized Crime.

Visiting Judge (approved by all 14 County Criminal Courts, Harris County)

Appointed by Johnny Holmes as Commissioner of the Civil Service Commission (over 1000 cases pending when appointed – 37 pending when resigned)

Spoken to over 15,000 prospective jurors

Managing partner at Taylor, Eggleston, Godwin and McDonald; a general litigation firm representing insurance defense, plaintiffs, family and civil cases

Voted in every Republican Primary since 1978

Adjunct Professor for Bates College of Law and Thurgood Marshall Law School; taught trial advocacy both in criminal and civil law

Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization by the State Bar of Texas

Frequent guest speaker at Sam Houston State University and Rice University on Criminal Justice

Instructor at Houston Police Academy; participated in Chambers County Sheriff’s Department and Mt. Belvieu Police Department training regarding domestic violence

Endorsed by three former United States Attorneys and Republican appointees: Dan Hedges, Ron Woods and Henry Oncken

Dear Liberty Dispatch,

2012-01-20T22:09:00.000-06:00

To answer a post that was from Anonymous (Scared of Reprisals by Pafford). This person listed several things that were clearly unfair and just wrong. Speculation or rumors is not a way to conduct business and the allegations of misconduct by this person are unjustified and unproven. I understand that we are at an election year and people will point finger after finger at opponents. Lets please act like adults and make adult decisions before making uneducated statements. I am neither for Constable Pafford or against him, I just can't stand by and watch these type of allegations continue. This letter was clearly written in support of Robby Thornton and thats fine but do not make such ridiculous comments with no backing or proof.

Lets clarify some things Mr. Anonymous, Constable Pafford of Pct 4 has allowed a Deputy to patrol U.S. 59, its no secret, there have been press releases on the cases; so Constable Pafford is clearly not hiding it. This type of proactive enforcement is conducted throughout this country and practiced amongst many Constable Offices in Texas. Instead of people finding a reason to complain about it, they should find a reason to praise the efforts of this Deputy and the Constables Office. Taking large amounts of drugs off the street is something that the citizens of this county should be proud of. It does not matter where it was done, it only matters that it was stopped from getting to its destination, which could have been our county or into the hands of our children. I applaud Pct 4 for having the willingness to pursue criminals actively using our roadways in the county. I have personally seen many Pct 4 deputies in the Dayton area stopping vehicles and enforcing the laws of the state. I am proud to see a Constables office that is not just serving civil process but that is attacking crime as well. It is a myth that Constables can only serve civil process. I ask you, is that what you want in your area? Or would you prefer a Constable that is proactive, fighting crime, and at the same time serving all civil/criminal process required by his office.

Lets touch some on the Reserve Deputies in Pct 4. Reserves are non-paid help for the Pct and many at Pct 4 are very well trained, educated, and with many years experience in law enforcement. So we are complaining about Constable Pafford allowing 1 reserve Deputy (a rogue deputy), out of all reserve deputies in the entire office, to conduct criminal interdiction on U.S. 59. So we are calling this Deputy a "rogue Deputy" because he did a good job? Really? So, lets begin to critize and name call the law enforcement officers that actually work in this county and run them all off and lets see what we will be left with. I also have personal knowledge that these Deputies don't just work U.S. 59 but also work many areas in Dayton, Highway 90, 146, 321, and 1960. It is a general fact that more quantities of narcotics move north from Houston on U.S. 59 than any other road in the entire county. Law Enforcement officers have the duty to protect and stop criminal activity. Yes, Pct 6 has this area as well as Cleveland but legally so does Pct 4. Let me explain

According to Texas state law and Texas Attorney General’s Opinion GA-0189, Constables have county-wide jurisdiction involving traffic enforcement and serving of any criminal or civil process. This means that Constables, who are peace officer in the state, have criminal and civil jurisdiction anywhere in the county that they are employed in. This should sum up your complaint about Pct 4 being out of their jurisdiction.

I see that Constable Pafford has done some great things that other departments have yet to accomplish and that is "Work". Allowing his people to go out and work as law enforcement officers is crucial with the protection of the citizens of the county. I have seen that Constable Pafford has been awarded a grant that will fund the purchase of new 800 mhz radios for his Deputies and in-car video cameras for their patrol vehicles. This allows for a more responsive Constables Office and again, something to be proud of. This was not given to them merely because they wanted it but because work was done to receive the grant. Many agencies throughout the state were in competition for this grant and only so many were awarded with the money and Pct 4 was awarded it, so applause again for Pct 4.

Lets begin to think outside the box a little and stop finding such small things to complain about. I truly see a mess among the law enforcement agencies in this county and commend Constable Pafford for having Deputies that actually work. I wish the best of luck to all candidates that are running for Pct 4 but lets not make lies up to win, lets pick the person that is right for the job. Again, great job Pct 4 on the drug busts on U.S. 59 and thank you for protecting our county.

By,

Anonymous (why not)

CEC guard pleads guilty to smuggling drugs into Liberty County facility

2012-01-20T04:28:00.006-06:00

A Community and Education Centers guard has plead guilty to smuggling drugs into the Liberty County Jail, according to a story in the Cleveland Advocate ("Liberty County jailer guilty of smuggling drugs," October 18th).

"James Allen Roach pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Thad Heartfield on Tuesday, Oct. 18, to attempting to provide a federal inmate with a prohibited object.

According to information presented in court, on Feb. 24, 2011, Roach, a correctional officer for the Liberty County Community Education Center (CEC), was arrested for arranging to deliver marijuana and tobacco into the Liberty County CEC to a federal inmate in exchange for money. Roach was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 2, 2011 and charged with federal violations."

This is not the first time that CEC's Liberty County Jail has had problems. Earlier this year, the facility failed its Texas Commission on Jail Standards inspection for multiple violations. The Warden Timothy New, Sheriff Henry Patterson's buddy wasn't even licensed at the Jail facility in Liberty, Texas for years- he was not licensed as a jailer at the time of multiple torts and civil rights violations committed by him and his leadership at CEC against prisoners. (from early 2009 to late 2011.)

See previous coverage of the Liberty County Jail here:

CEC's Liberty County Jail fails TCJS inspection; Warden is not properly licensed, April 13, 2011
Contraband investigation at CEC's Liberty County jail, May 7, 2010
CiviGenics Guard Resigns After Sexual Incident at Liberty County Jail, May 5, 2008 - 11:40am
CEC’s Rap Sheet -history primer-

This company is criminal and out of control- they have made Liberty County Texas an international laughing stock. The problems at CEC in Liberty County start with Warden Timothy New and end with soon to be ex-sheriff Henry Patterson.

You wont believe the offenses, truth is in fact stranger than fiction.

Stay tuned for more as we look nationwide at CEC's activities.

Courtesy- Fri, 10/21/2011 - http://www.texasprisonbidness.org

THE REAL THING VS. THE RINO

2012-01-19T19:48:00.005-06:00

Richard Baker for Chambers County 344th Judicial District Court

Actually though this piece is titled “The Real Thing vs. The RINO", but RINO is too good of word for Richard Baker.

RINO means Republican In Name Only and if a name is mean to describe someone, we could find no simple short word to tell Chambers County Republican primary voters about Richard Baker. While Baker’s opponent is a good conservative attorney with an excellent legal background to fill the vacant District Judge’s bench of the Honorable Judge Carroll Wilborne, Baker has been an antagonist to conservatives and Republicans his whole life.

Baker’s association with the Godfather of Democratic politics in Liberty County is as long as his career in law. Baker has the kind of Democrat credentials that would recommend him to be the Democrat Party Chairman of Texas, not a candidate in a Republican primary.

Baker has demeaned and made fun of and tried to beat down Republicans his entire adult life. He is only running as a Republican because he has to if he wants to hold an elected position in this part of Texas. Furthermore, Baker is used to having a near family-like relationship to at least one of the Judge’s sitting on the bench and with the death of the Democrat party he no longer has that advantage (so why not run for office).

Press Release - David Bradley, State Board of Education, District 7

2012-01-19T18:27:00.003-06:00

David Bradley announced yesterday he has filed to run in the upcoming Republican primary for reelection to the State Board of Education in District 7.

A lifelong resident of Southeast Texas, David Bradley has been a constant supporter of the conservative values of this community, including prudent use of tax dollars. He knows that adding more new buildings, athletic monuments, higher administrative salaries, and higher taxes cannot solve the ills of local public education.

Mr. Bradley continues to champion:

True Local Control: Where teachers are free to teach the curriculum -- not forced to teach to Federal and State exams.

Common Sense Reform and Proven Methods: David Bradley fought to ensure that young students memorize the multiplication tables rather than rely on calculators.

Elevating Education Standards: David Bradley supported Social Studies standards that now include American exceptionalism, the Founding Fathers and an actual reading of the Declaration of Independence. He also helped return phonics, spelling and grammar to the teaching of English Language Arts.

Mr. Bradley believes that parents have the right to send their children to the school of their choice, using their tax dollars. He also supports the tenet that English should be the only language used in teaching core subjects.

David Bradley commented that there is still quite a lot of work ahead of him with the Board, vowing that he will continue to be that clear, true voice for the parents and taxpayers of District 7.

Following redistricting, Mr. Bradley’s district grew to include 1.7 million constituents in Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Newton, Orange, Sabine, San Augustine and Tyler counties.