If the Southern vestiges of slavery, which to civil rights activists represents racism at its worst, must be erased from history, then it stands to reason so must our 13 slave-owner presidents
By Howie Katz
Big Jolly Politics
May 16, 2017
Ever since the 2015 mass-murder by a white supremacist of nine black worshipers in a Charleston, South Carolina church, there has been a move by civil rights activists to remove all statues of Confederate war heroes sitting on public grounds and to rename all schools that are named in honor of those men. So far at least 60 statues have been removed and schools renamed.
Four Confederate monuments have been designated for removal in New Orleans. An obelisk honoring an 1874 uprising against Reconstruction by whites in New Orleans, was taken down on April 24 by workers wearing flak jackets and scarves to conceal their identities. The statue of Jefferson Davis was recently removed in the middle of the night. Statues of Confederate generals, P. G. T. Beauregard and Robert E. Lee are next on the chopping block.
Those clamoring for the removal of statues and the renaming of schools and parks say that symbols of the Confederacy and slavery are a painful reminder to blacks of white supremacy.
The latest effort to erase or rewrite history is taking place in Charlottesville, Virginia where the city fathers want to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee astride a horse.
The Houston Independent School District Board of Trustees has ordered that the names of seven schools be changed to erase the names of Confederate heroes, including Robert E. Lee and "Stonewall" Jackson. And how much is that going to cost? $1.2 million taxpayer dollars. That’s $1.2 million so that some blacks won’t be painfully reminded of white supremacy
But why stop with Confederate heroes? If slavery represents racism at its worst, then we should tear down the statues of all slave owners and change the names of schools that bear their names. How about starting with George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, two large slave owners? And there are 11 other presidents that were slave owners who have either statues sitting somewhere on public grounds or schools named after them.
In addition to Washington and Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson and Ulysses S. Grant were American presidents who were slave owners. Down with their statues! Get their damn names off those school buildings!
Think I’m kidding? George Washington Elementary School in New Orleans is being renamed for Dr. Charles Richard Drew, a prominent black surgeon.
We are seeing political correctness at its worst. Sure slavery was a dark part of our history. But history is what it is and it should not be erased or rewritten. That’s something Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Kim Il Sung did.
I venture to say the majority of blacks in New Orleans don’t have the foggiest idea of who Jefferson Davis and P. G. T. Beauregard were. They probably see their statues as nothing more than repositories for pigeon poop.
And what about those seven Houston schools? Here again, most blacks have no idea who the people they are named after were. I don’t live in the Houston school district, but if I did, I would strongly resent $1.2 million of my tax dollars being wasted to placate a few rabble rousers.
That’s right, a few rabble rousers. I’m willing to bet that the overwhelming majority of blacks are not painfully reminded of slavery and white supremacy whenever they see a statue of Robert E. Lee or “Stonewall” Jackson, or whenever they see their names engraved on school buildings.
Thursday, May 18, 2017
IT'S THE EXCREMENT-ENCRUSTED BUMS, STUPID BART BASTARDS!
by Bob Walsh
BART is the Bay Area Rapid Transit District. It runs around a large chunk of the San Francisco Bay and out into some of the feeder communities. Unfortunately the ridership is off considerably and the non-peak ridership is WAY off. The BART board of directors is attempting to figure out why.
BART has an interesting seat-hog law, which has never been enforced and is about to be formally withdrawn. The ordinance makes it illegal to take up more than one seat in most circumstances. Many people right now park backpacks and other stuff on a second seat or otherwise flop out and take two seats. The actual reason for withdrawing the ordinance, however, is that it is "unfair" to homeless, excrement-encrusted bums who bring all of their excrement-encrusted belongings onto BART with them and who NEED two or three or more seats to flop out on, sleep and dump their excrement-encrusted belongings on while their excrement-encrusted bodies are napping, etc.
BART stations and elevators and to some extent trains have the reputation of smelling bad and being filthy, in large part because excrement-encrusted homeless bums use the trains, elevators and stairwells as latrines.
Strangely enough the BART board does not see any connection between the ridership drop-off and their policy of turning BART trains into mobile flop-houses for excrement-encrusted bums.
BART is the Bay Area Rapid Transit District. It runs around a large chunk of the San Francisco Bay and out into some of the feeder communities. Unfortunately the ridership is off considerably and the non-peak ridership is WAY off. The BART board of directors is attempting to figure out why.
BART has an interesting seat-hog law, which has never been enforced and is about to be formally withdrawn. The ordinance makes it illegal to take up more than one seat in most circumstances. Many people right now park backpacks and other stuff on a second seat or otherwise flop out and take two seats. The actual reason for withdrawing the ordinance, however, is that it is "unfair" to homeless, excrement-encrusted bums who bring all of their excrement-encrusted belongings onto BART with them and who NEED two or three or more seats to flop out on, sleep and dump their excrement-encrusted belongings on while their excrement-encrusted bodies are napping, etc.
BART stations and elevators and to some extent trains have the reputation of smelling bad and being filthy, in large part because excrement-encrusted homeless bums use the trains, elevators and stairwells as latrines.
Strangely enough the BART board does not see any connection between the ridership drop-off and their policy of turning BART trains into mobile flop-houses for excrement-encrusted bums.
YOU CAN STILL BE FIRED IN CA. FOR BEING A COMMIE
by Bob Walsh
Under the current civil service law you can be summarily fired from your job in the formerly great state of California if you are a communist. Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Alameda) introduced a bill to get rid of that law. He has since withdrawn his legislation under intense opposition from the local Vietnamese community, which has no use for commies. The stupid bastard even apologized for introducing the bill, AB22, in the first place.
Under the current civil service law you can be summarily fired from your job in the formerly great state of California if you are a communist. Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Alameda) introduced a bill to get rid of that law. He has since withdrawn his legislation under intense opposition from the local Vietnamese community, which has no use for commies. The stupid bastard even apologized for introducing the bill, AB22, in the first place.
A TRAGEDY NO MATTER HOW YOU SLICE IT
by Bob Walsh
A four-year old child is dead at a small home daycare operation in Orange, Virginia. It appears the child shot himself on Monday.
One of the residents of the home is a Stafford County Sheriff's Deputy. The deputy is still in training at the academy and has been with that agency about six months. The weapon was NOT a service weapon and the brief news blurb I read did not say anything about the ownership or normal storage of the weapon. I am not up on gun storage laws, if any, in Virginia. I know in CA it is a criminal offense to store a handgun where a person under 18 can access it.
Even if it turns out the deputy had no knowledge of or responsibility for the gun it is a tragedy and a pointless, stupid death.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This will give anti-gunners an organism.
A four-year old child is dead at a small home daycare operation in Orange, Virginia. It appears the child shot himself on Monday.
One of the residents of the home is a Stafford County Sheriff's Deputy. The deputy is still in training at the academy and has been with that agency about six months. The weapon was NOT a service weapon and the brief news blurb I read did not say anything about the ownership or normal storage of the weapon. I am not up on gun storage laws, if any, in Virginia. I know in CA it is a criminal offense to store a handgun where a person under 18 can access it.
Even if it turns out the deputy had no knowledge of or responsibility for the gun it is a tragedy and a pointless, stupid death.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This will give anti-gunners an organism.
SATAN MADE COP DO IT
'I am despicable': Kern County lawman convicted in drug plot blames Satan
By Veronica Rocha
Los Angeles Times
May 16, 2017
A former Kern County sheriff’s deputy who pleaded guilty Monday to conspiring to steal marijuana seized during criminal investigations apologized in a recorded video message for his misdeeds, saying Satan was “playing games” with him.
In a May 7 video entitled “I am sorry!” Logan August appeared seated with his wife as he apologized to Kern County residents, law enforcement officials and “anybody I had ever worked with that wears the badge that I disgraced.”
“I made a horrible decision,” the 30-year-old Bakersfield resident said in the YouTube video. “It was nobody else’s fault. Nobody influenced me to do it. I made that decision based on Satan playing games with me and making me feel like I was prideful and unable to go to family members for help.”
August and Derrick Penney, another former Kern County sheriff’s deputy, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute marijuana, according to U.S. Atty. Phillip A. Talbert. They have agreed to forfeit any money they earned from the trafficking operation. August and Penney face up to five years in prison.
The former deputies were accused of working with former Bakersfield police detective Patrick Mara and others to steal marijuana from the Kern County Sheriff’s Office storage unit, according federal court documents. The plot transpired between June 2014 and October 2014, according to the documents.
Federal authorities said the group planned to sell the cannabis, which had been previously seized by police during drug operations on private and public properties.
August was assigned to the Sheriff’s Major Vendor Narcotics Unit and participated in drug busts.
After August and Penney, 34, of Star, Idaho, stole the marijuana, they had it trimmed, so it could be sold, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. August then handed the eight pounds of marijuana to a confidential informant who sold it for him, federal authorities said.
August shared his earnings with Penney, each receiving about $1,200, according to federal prosecutors. August also gave a portion of the proceeds to Mara, who is about to begin a five-year federal prison sentence in a separate case, authorities said. Mara, a 13-year Bakersfield police veteran, admitted to stealing methamphetamine from drug dealers during traffic stops.
Federal authorities said August took the marijuana from drug busts on 10 separate occasions and gave his informant about 25 pounds of cannabis. After the marijuana was sold, he received $15,000, according to federal prosecutors.
In his video, August thanked people for leaving negative comments on his social media.
“I am deserving of everything you said,” August said. “I am despicable and I am a piece of crap and that is me in this world.”
By Veronica Rocha
Los Angeles Times
May 16, 2017
A former Kern County sheriff’s deputy who pleaded guilty Monday to conspiring to steal marijuana seized during criminal investigations apologized in a recorded video message for his misdeeds, saying Satan was “playing games” with him.
In a May 7 video entitled “I am sorry!” Logan August appeared seated with his wife as he apologized to Kern County residents, law enforcement officials and “anybody I had ever worked with that wears the badge that I disgraced.”
“I made a horrible decision,” the 30-year-old Bakersfield resident said in the YouTube video. “It was nobody else’s fault. Nobody influenced me to do it. I made that decision based on Satan playing games with me and making me feel like I was prideful and unable to go to family members for help.”
August and Derrick Penney, another former Kern County sheriff’s deputy, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute marijuana, according to U.S. Atty. Phillip A. Talbert. They have agreed to forfeit any money they earned from the trafficking operation. August and Penney face up to five years in prison.
The former deputies were accused of working with former Bakersfield police detective Patrick Mara and others to steal marijuana from the Kern County Sheriff’s Office storage unit, according federal court documents. The plot transpired between June 2014 and October 2014, according to the documents.
Federal authorities said the group planned to sell the cannabis, which had been previously seized by police during drug operations on private and public properties.
August was assigned to the Sheriff’s Major Vendor Narcotics Unit and participated in drug busts.
After August and Penney, 34, of Star, Idaho, stole the marijuana, they had it trimmed, so it could be sold, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. August then handed the eight pounds of marijuana to a confidential informant who sold it for him, federal authorities said.
August shared his earnings with Penney, each receiving about $1,200, according to federal prosecutors. August also gave a portion of the proceeds to Mara, who is about to begin a five-year federal prison sentence in a separate case, authorities said. Mara, a 13-year Bakersfield police veteran, admitted to stealing methamphetamine from drug dealers during traffic stops.
Federal authorities said August took the marijuana from drug busts on 10 separate occasions and gave his informant about 25 pounds of cannabis. After the marijuana was sold, he received $15,000, according to federal prosecutors.
In his video, August thanked people for leaving negative comments on his social media.
“I am deserving of everything you said,” August said. “I am despicable and I am a piece of crap and that is me in this world.”
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
THE ‘QU’ILS MANGENT DE LA BRIOCHE CONSERVATIVES’
Some Conservatives want to go so far right as to abolish Medicare, Medicaid and welfare
BarkGrowlBite
May 17, 2017
In their haste to keep their promise to abolish Obamacare, House Republicans have passed a health care bill that will sock it to older Americans and those with preexisting conditions.
The idea is to let private health insurance take over the health care of all Americans and then the competition between the insurers will lower health care costs. That is a figment of someone’s imagination.
First, since there is no mandate to obtain health insurance – a good thing – many if not most healthy Americans will opt not to get health insurance, preferring to wait until their good health begins to fade. That will leave the insurance carriers covering those who are not in the best of health and the elderly with their old age ailments. And that is going to raise insurance premiums, not lower them. It has been estimated that premiums could be five times higher for people over 65 than they are now.
Under the House passed bill, people with pre-existing conditions would be placed into a ‘High Risk Pool’ with high premiums, high deductibles and minimal coverage.
As for competition lowering insurance premiums, all one has to do is look at the competition between automobile insurance companies. GEICO, Progressive, Liberty and other companies promise they will save you $500 or more than what you are paying now. Yeah, but there’s a catch. They are not giving you the exact same coverage. If they did, their premiums would be the same as you are paying now, perhaps even higher. And so it will be with health insurance.
America is truly the land of milk and honey ….. but not for all, with many struggling just to keep a roof over their heads, food in their stomachs and clothes on their backs. I’m all for the free market but when it comes to health care the free market with its high insurance premiums will drive those who can’t afford them to the emergency rooms rather than to a physician. And who is going to end up paying for that? Why it’s going to be those who are more fortunate. If you think hospital bills are high now, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
Some conservatives want to abolish Medicare and Medicaid which they condemn as socialized medicine, and welfare which to them represents socialism. Apparently they believe the tooth fairy is going to dump tons of coins under the pillows of every middle class and poor member of our society. America is a very charitable country, but private charities and churches will not by any stretch of the imagination be able to meet the needs of those who would lose Medicare, Medicaid and welfare.
Conservatives who want to abolish those government lifelines remind me of Marie Antoinette. Whether the French Queen actually said it or not, folklore has it when Marie was informed that the poor had no bread, she exclaimed “Qu'ils mangent de la brioche,” which translates to “Let them eat cake.”
I am well aware there is a lot of fraud in our welfare programs. But abolishing welfare is like throwing the baby out with the dirty bath water. There are many people in dire need of assistance. A good number of those have brought their plight upon themselves. But are we going to ‘Marie Antoinette’ them because they fucked up?
That’s why I call those conservatives who want to abolish Medicare, Medicaid and welfare, ‘Qu'ils mangent de la brioche conservatives’ or if you prefer, ‘Let them eat cake conservatives’.
I am neither a Republican nor a Democrat. Both parties stink like shit. I am an independent conservative, but not an ideologue or doctrinaire. On fiscal issues I am a conservative, but on social issues I consider myself a moderate. I’m certainly not about to flush the poor down the shitter.
While I’m in favor of doing away with Obamacare, some aspects of that law are not bad. Nor is everything liberals espouse evil. I don’t know what the solution to our fucked up health care system is, but I have absolutely no confidence Congress can find it, no matter which party is in control.
If the Republicans want to abolish Obamacare, they better do it in the next 18 months. It looks like the midterm Congressional elections will be disastrous for the Republicans. In order for the current Senate to pass their version of the healthcare act, they will have to have some bipartisan support. But any such bill will never be acceptable to the ‘Qu'ils mangent de la brioche conservatives’ in the House.
BarkGrowlBite
May 17, 2017
In their haste to keep their promise to abolish Obamacare, House Republicans have passed a health care bill that will sock it to older Americans and those with preexisting conditions.
The idea is to let private health insurance take over the health care of all Americans and then the competition between the insurers will lower health care costs. That is a figment of someone’s imagination.
First, since there is no mandate to obtain health insurance – a good thing – many if not most healthy Americans will opt not to get health insurance, preferring to wait until their good health begins to fade. That will leave the insurance carriers covering those who are not in the best of health and the elderly with their old age ailments. And that is going to raise insurance premiums, not lower them. It has been estimated that premiums could be five times higher for people over 65 than they are now.
Under the House passed bill, people with pre-existing conditions would be placed into a ‘High Risk Pool’ with high premiums, high deductibles and minimal coverage.
As for competition lowering insurance premiums, all one has to do is look at the competition between automobile insurance companies. GEICO, Progressive, Liberty and other companies promise they will save you $500 or more than what you are paying now. Yeah, but there’s a catch. They are not giving you the exact same coverage. If they did, their premiums would be the same as you are paying now, perhaps even higher. And so it will be with health insurance.
America is truly the land of milk and honey ….. but not for all, with many struggling just to keep a roof over their heads, food in their stomachs and clothes on their backs. I’m all for the free market but when it comes to health care the free market with its high insurance premiums will drive those who can’t afford them to the emergency rooms rather than to a physician. And who is going to end up paying for that? Why it’s going to be those who are more fortunate. If you think hospital bills are high now, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
Some conservatives want to abolish Medicare and Medicaid which they condemn as socialized medicine, and welfare which to them represents socialism. Apparently they believe the tooth fairy is going to dump tons of coins under the pillows of every middle class and poor member of our society. America is a very charitable country, but private charities and churches will not by any stretch of the imagination be able to meet the needs of those who would lose Medicare, Medicaid and welfare.
Conservatives who want to abolish those government lifelines remind me of Marie Antoinette. Whether the French Queen actually said it or not, folklore has it when Marie was informed that the poor had no bread, she exclaimed “Qu'ils mangent de la brioche,” which translates to “Let them eat cake.”
I am well aware there is a lot of fraud in our welfare programs. But abolishing welfare is like throwing the baby out with the dirty bath water. There are many people in dire need of assistance. A good number of those have brought their plight upon themselves. But are we going to ‘Marie Antoinette’ them because they fucked up?
That’s why I call those conservatives who want to abolish Medicare, Medicaid and welfare, ‘Qu'ils mangent de la brioche conservatives’ or if you prefer, ‘Let them eat cake conservatives’.
I am neither a Republican nor a Democrat. Both parties stink like shit. I am an independent conservative, but not an ideologue or doctrinaire. On fiscal issues I am a conservative, but on social issues I consider myself a moderate. I’m certainly not about to flush the poor down the shitter.
While I’m in favor of doing away with Obamacare, some aspects of that law are not bad. Nor is everything liberals espouse evil. I don’t know what the solution to our fucked up health care system is, but I have absolutely no confidence Congress can find it, no matter which party is in control.
If the Republicans want to abolish Obamacare, they better do it in the next 18 months. It looks like the midterm Congressional elections will be disastrous for the Republicans. In order for the current Senate to pass their version of the healthcare act, they will have to have some bipartisan support. But any such bill will never be acceptable to the ‘Qu'ils mangent de la brioche conservatives’ in the House.
HOUSTONIANS FACE ROYAL SCREWING IN PRIVATE KANGAROO COURT FOR TOLL ROAD VIOLATIONS
Expired credit cards leave Houstonians with expensive toll payments
Click2Houston
May 15, 2017
HOUSTON - Expired credit cards have thousands of Houstonians stuck with big bills after being caught unexpectedly in the cross hairs of the Harris County Toll Road Authority.
Consumer expert Amy Davis discovered many drivers are remanded to a little known court where, some say, the deck is stacked against them.
"They're trying to hide something," attorney Cory Roth said. "They're trying to hide the amount of money they collect every year. They're trying to hide the amount of people that get sued every year."
Tucked upstairs on the third floor of a building on Prairie in downtown Houston is where thousands of toll violators are summoned to appear. About 750 drivers are sued every week -- totaling about 39,000 each year.
"They said that I would get a warrant if I didn't show up," said Deborah Bostwick, who told Davis she was in the hospital dying of cancer when the Harris County Toll Road Authority claims she ran through toll booths without paying.
"You can actually go to jail," said Antoinette Tolson, repeating what a clerk in the court told her.
KPRC Channel 2 News wanted to take you inside, but the judge wouldn't allow our camera in the courtroom.
"We're trying to get a copy of the docket here today, of everyone who's scheduled to appear here for cases," Davis told a Harris County Toll Road employee at the court.
"OK. I don't have a comment on that right now," he said as he quickly ducked inside the court.
HCTRA maintains the Texas Motor Vehicle Records Disclosure Act prohibits it from releasing the names and case information of anyone in the court.
"I think it's nonsense," Roth said. "Courtrooms are public places. It is very clear. A courtroom is a public place."
Roth takes issue with the court for several reasons. State law allows Harris County to make its own rules and hire a private law firm to do the dirty work of collections and prosecutions of drivers accused of running tolls. The law firm Harris County commissioners approved is Linebarger, Goggan, Blair & Sampson. The firm has donated $80,000 to commissioners since getting the contract.
Linebarger is a private debt collector. Since it's collecting on behalf of a government agency, it has its own sort of E-ZPass. None of the consumer protection laws apply, like the requirement to provide proof you actually owe a debt. There is no statute of limitations, meaning they can come after you years later.
"My first questions was: Why haven't I been alerted about this?" Steven Devadanam told Davis.
Devadanam's unpaid tolls were from 2015. Even though he has an EZ Tag and receives statements from the Harris County Toll Road Authority every month, showing he's got plenty of money in his account, when he called to add a rental car to his account in February, a customer service agent gave him the bad news.
"'Did you know that you have a $762 balance?' Devadanam said the woman asked him. "And I said, 'Uh, no. I wasn't aware of that. I didn't drive to Canada.'"
Devadanamt added a Toyota Prius to his account in the summer of 2015.
The Toll Road Authority issued him an EZ plate so he could drive on the toll road until his EZ Tag arrived by mail. The HCTRA admits it took it 17 days to mail the tag. By the time it arrived, Devadanam's EZ plate had expired. He racked up $45.50 in unpaid tolls that turned into $724, 16 times what he originally owed.
"I'm not gonna pay for a balance that I didn't generate or create," Devadanam said.
"How much effort does the Toll Road Authority make to actually notify people?" Davis asked Gary Trietsch, executive director of the HCTRA.
"We are bound by state law that all we can do is send it to the address that's on their license plate information," Trietsch replied.
The Texas Transportation Code said the authority must send unpaid toll notices to the address of the vehicle's registered owner.
The HCTRA said it sent nine notices before it sent Devadanam's account to collections. Seven of those were returned. But there is nothing stopping Harris County from contacting customers like Devadanam at their email address on file.
"By Harris County not making an effort to notify consumers, Linebarger gets more money," Davis told Trietsch.
"Linebarger gets more money, but, uh, you know, No. 1: We have a million and a half transactions a day. There are going to be errors," he said.
They seem to be errors that work in Linebarger's favor. In the last three years, Linebarger has collected $25.2 million for the Harris County Toll Road Authority. It collected $28.6 million for itself from all the extra fees it charged drivers.
"It's not fair. It's just not fair," Roth said.
A lot of EZ Tag customers get slapped with extra fees when credit cards expire or you get a new one. Many assume when you link your new credit card to your account, the Toll Road Authority will simply charge it for the unpaid tolls. That does not happen. You have to remember to pay those separately.
Linebarger spokesman Joe Householder sent us the following statement:
"There are two certain ways to avoid paying a fine for a toll violation. You can pay your tolls as they are incurred, or you can avoid driving on the toll roads, which are clearly marked as such. One should not lose site of the fact that driving on a toll road and not paying your tolls is a violation of law -- a Class C misdemeanor. The law allows large counties like Harris to choose how it prefers to enforce toll violations. Harris County opted for a civil administrative process, as opposed to a criminal process."
Here is how your missed toll can easily turn into hundreds of dollars:
*When you run three tolls that cost $1.75 each ($5.25 total) within 365 days, the HCTRA will send you the first invoice after the third violation, but will add $11 to each violation ($10 per violation as administration fee approved by Commissioner’s Court plus $1 per violation to the county attorney per state statute). That total is now $38.25.
*The HCTRA will try to collect for 45 days before it sends the debt to Linebarger, Goggan, Blair & Sampson. At that time, the county adds $14 per violation, adding up to $80.25
*Linebarger attempts to collect for 60 days. Then it can add a $50.00 fee when a hearing is scheduled. The total is now $130.25.
*If you go to the hearing and ask the administrative judge to hear your case but are unsuccessful, the judge can charge you $500, plus you’ll pay $110 in court costs, bringing your total to $740.25.
Click2Houston
May 15, 2017
HOUSTON - Expired credit cards have thousands of Houstonians stuck with big bills after being caught unexpectedly in the cross hairs of the Harris County Toll Road Authority.
Consumer expert Amy Davis discovered many drivers are remanded to a little known court where, some say, the deck is stacked against them.
"They're trying to hide something," attorney Cory Roth said. "They're trying to hide the amount of money they collect every year. They're trying to hide the amount of people that get sued every year."
Tucked upstairs on the third floor of a building on Prairie in downtown Houston is where thousands of toll violators are summoned to appear. About 750 drivers are sued every week -- totaling about 39,000 each year.
"They said that I would get a warrant if I didn't show up," said Deborah Bostwick, who told Davis she was in the hospital dying of cancer when the Harris County Toll Road Authority claims she ran through toll booths without paying.
"You can actually go to jail," said Antoinette Tolson, repeating what a clerk in the court told her.
KPRC Channel 2 News wanted to take you inside, but the judge wouldn't allow our camera in the courtroom.
"We're trying to get a copy of the docket here today, of everyone who's scheduled to appear here for cases," Davis told a Harris County Toll Road employee at the court.
"OK. I don't have a comment on that right now," he said as he quickly ducked inside the court.
HCTRA maintains the Texas Motor Vehicle Records Disclosure Act prohibits it from releasing the names and case information of anyone in the court.
"I think it's nonsense," Roth said. "Courtrooms are public places. It is very clear. A courtroom is a public place."
Roth takes issue with the court for several reasons. State law allows Harris County to make its own rules and hire a private law firm to do the dirty work of collections and prosecutions of drivers accused of running tolls. The law firm Harris County commissioners approved is Linebarger, Goggan, Blair & Sampson. The firm has donated $80,000 to commissioners since getting the contract.
Linebarger is a private debt collector. Since it's collecting on behalf of a government agency, it has its own sort of E-ZPass. None of the consumer protection laws apply, like the requirement to provide proof you actually owe a debt. There is no statute of limitations, meaning they can come after you years later.
"My first questions was: Why haven't I been alerted about this?" Steven Devadanam told Davis.
Devadanam's unpaid tolls were from 2015. Even though he has an EZ Tag and receives statements from the Harris County Toll Road Authority every month, showing he's got plenty of money in his account, when he called to add a rental car to his account in February, a customer service agent gave him the bad news.
"'Did you know that you have a $762 balance?' Devadanam said the woman asked him. "And I said, 'Uh, no. I wasn't aware of that. I didn't drive to Canada.'"
Devadanamt added a Toyota Prius to his account in the summer of 2015.
The Toll Road Authority issued him an EZ plate so he could drive on the toll road until his EZ Tag arrived by mail. The HCTRA admits it took it 17 days to mail the tag. By the time it arrived, Devadanam's EZ plate had expired. He racked up $45.50 in unpaid tolls that turned into $724, 16 times what he originally owed.
"I'm not gonna pay for a balance that I didn't generate or create," Devadanam said.
"How much effort does the Toll Road Authority make to actually notify people?" Davis asked Gary Trietsch, executive director of the HCTRA.
"We are bound by state law that all we can do is send it to the address that's on their license plate information," Trietsch replied.
The Texas Transportation Code said the authority must send unpaid toll notices to the address of the vehicle's registered owner.
The HCTRA said it sent nine notices before it sent Devadanam's account to collections. Seven of those were returned. But there is nothing stopping Harris County from contacting customers like Devadanam at their email address on file.
"By Harris County not making an effort to notify consumers, Linebarger gets more money," Davis told Trietsch.
"Linebarger gets more money, but, uh, you know, No. 1: We have a million and a half transactions a day. There are going to be errors," he said.
They seem to be errors that work in Linebarger's favor. In the last three years, Linebarger has collected $25.2 million for the Harris County Toll Road Authority. It collected $28.6 million for itself from all the extra fees it charged drivers.
"It's not fair. It's just not fair," Roth said.
A lot of EZ Tag customers get slapped with extra fees when credit cards expire or you get a new one. Many assume when you link your new credit card to your account, the Toll Road Authority will simply charge it for the unpaid tolls. That does not happen. You have to remember to pay those separately.
Linebarger spokesman Joe Householder sent us the following statement:
"There are two certain ways to avoid paying a fine for a toll violation. You can pay your tolls as they are incurred, or you can avoid driving on the toll roads, which are clearly marked as such. One should not lose site of the fact that driving on a toll road and not paying your tolls is a violation of law -- a Class C misdemeanor. The law allows large counties like Harris to choose how it prefers to enforce toll violations. Harris County opted for a civil administrative process, as opposed to a criminal process."
Here is how your missed toll can easily turn into hundreds of dollars:
*When you run three tolls that cost $1.75 each ($5.25 total) within 365 days, the HCTRA will send you the first invoice after the third violation, but will add $11 to each violation ($10 per violation as administration fee approved by Commissioner’s Court plus $1 per violation to the county attorney per state statute). That total is now $38.25.
*The HCTRA will try to collect for 45 days before it sends the debt to Linebarger, Goggan, Blair & Sampson. At that time, the county adds $14 per violation, adding up to $80.25
*Linebarger attempts to collect for 60 days. Then it can add a $50.00 fee when a hearing is scheduled. The total is now $130.25.
*If you go to the hearing and ask the administrative judge to hear your case but are unsuccessful, the judge can charge you $500, plus you’ll pay $110 in court costs, bringing your total to $740.25.
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