Perry Tops Bush in Number of Minority Appointees in Texas

AUSTIN (AP) — Gov. Rick Perry has appointed Hispanics and blacks to state posts at a slightly higher rate so far than his predecessor, fellow Repub lican George W. Bush.

Perry made a total of 1,356 appointments through Nov. 3, according to records maintained by his office. Sixteen percent were Hispanic and 11 percent black; 64 percent were men and 36 percent were women.

While Bush was Texas governor from 1995-2000, 13 percent of his appointments were Hispanic and 9 percent were black; 63 percent were men and 37 percent were women.

Perry was lieutenant governor when Bush became president and moved into the governorship in December 2000. He was elected to a full four-year term in 2002.

Because the Texas governor's direct powers are constitutionally limited, one streng th of the office comes in the ability to name people to boards, commissions and councils, many of which oversee state agencies.

Democrat Ann Richards, the governor from 1991-95, had a bit higher rate of appointing minorities and women than both of the men who succeeded her. Eighteen percent of her appointees were Hispanic, 13 percent were black and 41 percent were women.

One prominent Latino interest group said it encourages minority appointments to state offices, especially considering the growing Hispanic population in Texas, but who the governor chooses is more important.

"We're not just concerned about the percentages. We're also concerned about the track record of these individuals, because they're instrumental to the decision-making process," said Ana Yanez-Correa, state public policy director for the League of United Latin American Citizens.

For example, Texas Insurance Commissioner Jose Montemayor — who was first appointed by Bush then reappointed by Perry — is Hispanic, but LULAC officials don't believe he is doing enough to enforce insurance reforms, such as a ban on credit scoring by insurance companies.

"The people that (the governor) appoints also need to look after the interests of those growing communities," Yanez-Correa said.

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 32 percent of Texas' nearly 21 million residents were Hispanic and 11.5 percent were black.

Perry has made numerous appointments this fall, from members of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to the University of Texas System Board of Regents.

Last week, after naming Houston judge Scott Brister, a Republican, to an open seat on the Texas Supreme Court, Perry spoke of his appointment powers.

"The authority to appoint thousands of qualified Texans to positions of service is one of the most significant responsibilities of any Texas governor, and the weight of that appointment power is magnified when a governor must fill a vacancy on the highest court in our land, the Texas Supreme Court," Perry said.

Ok, Folks. Texas has given all those complainers plenty of time to get used to the results. After seeing the whiners along the inauguration route, the folks from Texas have decided that we might just take matters into our own hands. Here is our solution:

#1: Let Al Gore become President of the United States (all 49 states).

#2: George W. Bush becomes the President of the Republic of Texas.

So what does Texas have to do to survive as a Republic?

NASA in Houston, Texas (we will control the space industry).

We refine over 85% of the gasoline in the United States

Defense Industry (we have over 65% of it). The term "Don't mess with Texas," will take on a whole new meaning.

Oil - we can supply all the oil that the Republic of Texas will need for the next 300 years. Yankee states? Sorry about that.

Natural Gas - Again we have all we need and it's too bad about those northern states. Al Gore will figure a way to keep them warm....

Computer Industry - we currently lead the nation in producing computer chips and communications: Small places like Texas Instruments, Dell Computer, EDS, Raytheon, National Semiconductor, Motorola, Intel, AMD, Atmel, Applied Materials, Ball Semiconductor, Dallas Semiconductor, Delphi, Nortel, Alcatel, Etc,Etc. The list goes on and on.

Health Centers - We have the largest research centers for Cancer research, the best burn centers and the top trauma units in the world, and other large health planning centers.

We have enough colleges to keep us going: UT, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Rice, SMU, University of Houston, Baylor, UNT, Texas Women's University, etc. Ivy grows better in the south anyway.

We have a ready supply of workers (just open the border when we need some more.

We have control of the paper industry, plastics, insurance, etc.

In case of a foreign invasion, we have the Texas National Guard and the Texas Air National Guard. We don't have an army but since everybody down here has at least six rifles and a pile of ammo, we can raise an army in 24 hours if we need it. If the situation really gets bad, we can always call Department of Public Safety and ask them to send over a couple Texas
Rangers.

We are totally self sufficient in beef, poultry, hogs and vegetable produce and everybody down here knows how to cook them so that they taste good. Don't need any food.

This just names a few of the items that will keep the Republic of Texas in good shape. There isn't a thing out there that we need and don't have.

Now to the rest of the United States under President Gore: Since you won't have the refineries to get gas for your cars, only President Gore will be able to drive around in his 9 mile per gallon SUV. The rest of the United States will have to walk or ride bikes.

You won't have any TV as the space center in Houston will cut off your communications. You won't have any natural gas to heat your homes but since Mr. Gore has predicted global warming, you will not need the gas.

Just a few notes on REAL election results:

Total Counties won by Bush: 2,434
Total Counties won by Gore: 677

Population of counties won by Bush: 143 million.
Population of counties won by Gore: 127 million

Square miles of country won by Bush: 2,427,000
Square miles of country won by Gore: 580,000

States won by Bush: 29
States won by Gore: 19

And an even more remarkable finding....

Average Murder per 100,000 residents in counties won by Bush: 0.1
Average Murder per 100,000 r esidents in counties won by Gore: 13.2

Researchers found one more interesting fact that might help explain these disparate murder rates. Gun ownership in the counties won by Mr. Bush is much higher than in the counties won by Mr. Gore.

Signed, The People in Texas

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