The Llano Ledger


Newsletter Text V47

This Website Is Full. Starting With The December 25, 2000 Newsletter, All Future Editions Will Be Posted In The Llano Ledger 2, Found By Clicking http://maxpages.com/llanoledger2.

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Publisher's Note: Accessing _The Llano Ledger website without generously providing financial assistance to this non-profit publication not only denies desperately needed funds for investigative expenses, but amounts to theft of this writer's labor. T.C.

*************July 3, 2000*************

The following letter from the General Services Commission was received June 28:

General Services Commission
P.O. Box 13047
Austin, Tx. 78711

June 23, 2000

Mr. Tim Chorney
Publisher
The Llano Ledger
Rt.2 Box 464A
Buchanan Dam, TX 78609

Dear Mr. Chorney:

I apologize for the delay in answering this letter; I have been out of the office and my mail accumulated.

Local Government Code, Chapter 118, establishes that the county clerk shall charge $1.00 per page for issuing a copy of a page or part of a page. That was affirmed by the Office of the Attorney General in Letter Opinion No. 96-082 (copy attached). However, in a letter dated August 8, 1997, the OAG addressed the charges that could be imposed by other county agencies (copy attached).

The County Clerk's office, as well as the District Clerk's Office and the County Treasurer's Office have specific statutes that allow charges other than those established by the General Services Commission. I am not aware of any statutes that set specific charges for copies from the County Judge's Office. However, please note that the office may be considered part of the judiciary, and as such, would not be subject to Chapter 552, or the cost rules. The Office of the Attorney General may be able to help you to determine whether or not the County Judge is subject to Chapter 552.

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to contact me at 512-475-2497, or at hadassah.schloss@gsc.state.tx.us.

Sincerely,
Hadassah Schloss
Open Records Administrator
Enclosures

In response, the following e-mail was sent June 28:

General Services Commission
Hadassah Schloss, Open Records Administrator

Dear Ms. Schloss:

Thank you for your letter of June 23. Having read it several times, however, it does not appear responsive to my letter of June 6.

Kindly understand Llano County Judge J.P. Dodgen in his letter of May 15, 2000 has asserted there is a $1.00/copy charge imposed by ALL Llano County offices: "It is my understanding that the standard charge for requested copies is $1.00 per page. Any reduction in this fee, for any purpose, would set a precedent and require action of Commissioners' Court."

Clearly, the Judge and his cronies on the Commissioners' Court have imposed this outrageous fee in an attempt to thwart the Public Information Act and its "reasonable charge" requirements. Kindly be advised, however, the Open Records Division has dumped this matter into your hands since the Attorney General lacks statutory authority to enforce cost provisions of the Public Information Act. Ch.552.269(a), Gov't Code, Public Information.

Although I had earlier read the July 31, 1996 ruling enclosed regarding County Clerks, it would appear the August 8, 1997 Morales ruling (also provided in your correspondence) prohibits County Commissioners from gouging citizens with outrageous copying costs as imposed by the Llano County Commissioners' Court.

Apparently, this publication has become caught between two state agencies which have not resolved jurisdiction or responsibility for handling such matters. Simply and respectfully asked, what is your office willing to do about the outrageous copying charges imposed by the Llano County Commissioners' Court in ALL County offices?

Sincerely,
Tim Chorney, Publisher
The Llano Ledger
http://maxpages.com/llanoledger
Rt 2 Box 464A
Buchanan Dam, Tx. 78609

The following letter from the Assistant Attorney General was received June 30:

Office of the Attorney General
State of Texas
P.O. Box 12548
Austin, Tx. 78711

June 29, 2000

Mr. Tim Chorney
The Llano Ledger
Rt. 2 Box 464A
Buchanan Dam, Texas 78609

Re: ID#138046

Dear Mr. Chorney:

This letter is in response to your open records request to the Office of the Attorney General ("OAG") for information relating to ID#138046. Specifically, you have requested "a copy of Mr. Brown's June 12, 2000 request for exception." The OAG has reviewed its files and has located the enclosed document which is responsive to your request.

Although the Public Information Act allows a governmental body to charge for copying documents, in accordance with section 552.267 of the Government Code, the enclosed document is being provided to you at no charge.

If you have any questions or wish to discuss this matter further, you may contact me at (512)936-6736.

Sincerely,
June B. Harden
Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Division
JBH/mdv
Encl.: Requested document

The following e-mail dated June 30 was quickly sent in response:

Ms. June B. Harden
Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Division

Re: ID#138046

Dear Ms. Harden:

Thank you for promptly providing a copy of Mr. Brown's June 12, 2000 request for exception. Kindly be advised, however, LMHS Administrator/CEO Ernie Parisi did not fully honor the open records request dated May 25, 2000 germane to ID#138046.

He balked on Item 3 requesting access to "All donor records of Llano Bay Healthcare, Inc.", i.e. the Marble Falls Community Hospital. He falsely claims these records do not exist. It is public knowledge, however, there has been ongoing fundraising efforts for quite some time and apparently, some $50,000 has already been raised.

Mr. Parisi and legal counsel have apparently been playing a "shell game" with the requested records. In the Administrator's tardy open records response of June 14, he disingenuously and falsely asserted "With regard for your request concerning all donor records of Llano Bay Healthcare, Inc., please be advised that there are no such donor records as all funds which have been provided by Llano Bay Healthcare, Inc. have been provided by Llano Memorial Hospital Foundation".

I immediately sent an additional open records request dated June 15 seeking access to "All donor records of Llano Memorial Hospital Foundation. On June 21, however, I received a copy of a letter dated June 20 to Lance Center, Treasurer, Llano Memorial Hospital Foundation from Mr. Parisi, forwarding the June 15 open records request. I still have yet to hear from Mr. Center.

Kindly be advised both officials are well beyond the 10-business day deadline of the original open records request of May 25 and are apparently stonewalling and obfuscating all open records requests in an effort to thwart the Public Information Act and required disclosure.

Since the District Attorney and County Attorney are apparently corrupt, abusive, and highly selective in their prosecutions, I have no intention of filing a complaint with either. It would be a waste of time.

Kindly be advised, District Attorney Sam Oatman himself failed to fully comply with an earlier open records request dated March 12, 2000. Worse yet, he dishonestly and unethically attempted to charge for copies never requested in an unsuccessful effort to intimidate this writer.

As asserted in an earlier letter to you, Ms. Harden, what we have here is a corrupt and abusive County badly in need of an independent criminal investigation. ... I won't hold my breath, however. Sadly, LMHS and School District (ID#138059 still unresolved) open records stonewalling is the least of it.

Sincerely,
Tim Chorney, Publisher
The Llano Ledger
http://maxpages.com/llanoledger
Rt 2 Box 464A
Buchanan Dam, Tx. 78609

The withdrawn LMHS request for exception document is quite long and will be posted as soon as possible on LMHS V2 if there is sufficient space left on that page. If not, it will be posted in LMHS V3 on the Llano Ledger 2 website found by clicking on http://maxpages.com/llanoledger2. Attention will certainly be drawn to it in the next Newsletter, regardless.

Readers are reminded there has been no resolution of the donor records issue raised by the Administrator's egregious stonewalling of the May 25 open records request. Clearly, LMHS counsel's withdrawn request for exception ruling was cleverly designed to shield LMHS from inquiry regarding the expenditure of $7300 in Hospital funds for a Survey and Engineering Study allegedly germane to purchase of the now defunct site. What makes this even more interesting is the fact the exception request was quickly and inexplicably withdrawn.

The Administrator, as chief spokesperson for LMHS, has remained cowardly silent regarding this highly questionable $7400 expenditure. Either the Administrator and Board are extraordinarily aggressively stupid in judgement and supremely arrogant, or there has been criminal activity involved. Since this publication receives no financial support from the readership, the probe will continue through the aggressive use of the Public Information Act. Interestingly, the withdrawn LMHS request for exception contained no mention of the requested donor records and was apparently filed to block access to what is at the very least an embarrassing waste of Hospital funds, -- or worse.

Hear about county clerks in Vermont refusing to issue licenses to same sex civil unions as required by a new law that went into effect July 1? ... Most pointedly, who the hell are these clerks to force their jaded moral standards on others not in agreement? If government lackeys are incapable of doing their jobs as required by statute, they should do what's minimally honorable and quickly resign in disgrace. Regardless and equally pointedly, provided a couple is kind, considerate, and loving, who the hell cares what their sexual orientation happens to be? The fascist Right apparently does. After all, they've been forcing their moral, religious, and political views on others for the last 30 years.

These very same hypocrites have often been married several times themselves, and have engaged in and enjoyed frequent extramarital sex. Gay friends have told me repeatedly they don't want special rights. They just want the same rights enjoyed by the rest of us. They've also repeatedly asserted they didn't "choose" to be gay. I believe them. After all, I didn't choose to be straight. I just am.

In an interesting personal aside, this writer's marriage ended some 13 years ago. At the time and like a flash of lightning and the crack of thunder, it occurred to me, why have one troublesome woman when you can have a harem full of 'em? ... Being married once was (and is) indeed twice too many.

Recently and quite inexplicably, however, my heart nearly slipped away to a breathtakingly beautiful young lass and her exceptionally bright son. Just as importantly, her family is extremely loving and stunningly supportive of one another. Most unusual these days, isn't it? Families just don't come any better than this one.

... Dawn of a brilliant new day with exquisitely limitless possibilities for a loving new relationship? -- Clearly, not to be. For a variety of reasons. ... Luckily so, as it turns out. What the hell could I have possibly been thinking? Apparently suffering from temporary insanity, a brain fart, early senility, or some other damned affliction, I finally returned to my senses, -- or whatever is left of them. ... Thankfully so and before watching my heart part, -- only to be discarded or trampled.

Continuously raising hell on this website and constantly confronting game-playing bureaucrats, I certainly don't need any more in my personal life. More importantly, having pleasantly and happily lived alone for so many years, this old goat's not quite fit to be around. Any woman would certainly have her hands full. ... At the very least, there'd never be a dull moment.

Nearing 50, who needs the additional responsibility and aggravation anyway? ... Now, a harem, that may be a whole 'nother story... ... Hmmmmm... A pleasantly intriguing thought... ... Truly, men are dogs, aren't they? Every damned one of us. Any man claiming not to be is lying, -- to himself or others. After all, we're men, aren't we?

All joking aside, with a divorce rate of 50% and with new marriages failing at a staggering 60%, one would think the fascist Right should be more appropriately concerned with failing heterosexual relationships. Again, their agenda is to impose their jaded religious and political views on others. Their intolerance and intense homophobia are indeed stunning. Equally troubling, the aggressive assault on abortion rights is extraordinarily Aryan arrogant. After all, who the hell is a religious zealot to tell a woman what she can and can't do with her uterus?

The fascist Right quickly points to the Book of Leviticus and its proscription of homosexuality to justify its self-righteous homophobic bigotry and hatred of gays. Most pointedly, the same Book sanctions the killing of adulterers and homosexuals. Should we execute such "criminals" today? Nearly the entire adult population of this country would be gone.

Christ, himself, put an end to such nauseatingly sick depravity when he saved the life of the prostitute admonishing the murderous mob "He who is without sin cast the first stone." Hate the sin, love the sinner "thinking" is egregiously disingenuous, arrogant, oversimplistic, and only reinforces and justifies homophobic bigotry.

Many fascists ludicrously believe gays "choose" to be homosexual. Why would anyone "choose" to be scorned, harassed, hated, discriminated against, beaten, and often killed by self-righteous homophobic zealots? Sadly, the fiercest opponents of homosexuality are the least secure themselves in their own sexuality and orientation. These gutless hypocrites, however, proudly profess their "Christianity" and shamelessly impose their beliefs on others. Yet, Christ NEVER forced his views on anyone. The level of hypocrisy is stunning.

It's time for the fascist Right to get off its phony high horse. Equally pointedly, it's time for the political Center to find its voice and start challenging both the Right and Left. Liberty hangs in the balance and is seriously threatened by both extremes.

Regarding the Governor and his cowardly handling of the Gary Grahm execution, when will Mr. Bush finally wake up and acknowledge serious problems exist with many of these cases? -- Or doesn't he have the intellectual capacity and where-with-all to do so?

According to _The Chicago Tribune, of over 132 criminals executed since George W. took office, 43 had defense attorneys publicly sanctioned for misconduct. The "attorneys" of 40 others neglected to present evidence or presented just one witness during the sentencing part of their clients' trials. Dozens of other prisoners were allegedly convicted on the testimony of non-credible witnesses or unreliable physical evidence. Criminal defense attorneys have long complained procedural issues, not guilt or innocence, are examined at the appellate level. Frightening, isn't it?

Yet, the Governor is sound asleep. The rubber stamp Pardons and Paroles Board that "reviews" all executions spared only one of over 132 prisoners executed since Mr. Bush took office. Outrageously, this Board does not meet to deliberate, and polls its members by fax or telephone prior to rendering a ruling.

Commenting prior to Grahm's execution, however, Governor Bush proclaimed "May God bless the victim, the family of the victim, and may God bless Mr. Grahm." While Gary Grahm was indeed a vicious criminal and certainly no Jesus Christ, our illustrious Governor sounded remarkably similar to Pontius Pilate before Christ's execution. The Governor's quoted outrageous remarks as well as his earlier mocking mimicry of Carla Fae Tucker prior to her execution are further evidence of his depravity, intellectual vacuousness, and unfitness for office. Similarly to Mr. Gore and on numerous issues, he has pitifully little to no substance. With a population of some 300 million in this great country, is this the best both major political parties have to offer?

The fascist Right deplores the length of time allowed by the appeals process. Yet, approximately 2/3 of capital cases are overturned on appeal, -- often taking 20 years or more in some cases to do so. Fascists, however, could care less. ... As long as it's not a friend or family member, what the hell's a few innocently killed by the State, right? It's legalized murder, friends, and it's being done in the name of the people.

This is clearly not a partisan problem as the vast majority of Democrats, including their Presidential frontrunner Al Gore, support capital punishment. What it is, however, is a national disgrace.

While enjoying brisket and beer tomorrow, remember the Flag and what it proudly stands for. ... Or used to. Already conveniently forgotten Elian? "Papa Fidel", as addressed by the boy in a Father's Day card sent to the Cuban dictator, certainly hasn't.

The child is already scheduled for additional indoctrination to "make him a model boy" prior to entering the second grade this fall. The U.S. Attorney General, the President, the Supreme Court, and the vast majority of the American people have recently ruled and affirmed children are indeed "owned" by their parents, -- chattel. Unlike Cuba, where the boy is "owned" by the State, i.e. Fidel, not Miguel.

While the fascist Right has fervently called for an amendment banning the burning of the Flag, they've conveniently ignored its figurative desecration recently as Elian was stripped of his freedom and forced to return to a communist state with his "loving" "father".

Sadly, this terrible injustice will long since been forgotten tomorrow when _The Star Spangled Banner is played and fireworks are detonated. During rendition of the National Anthem, be sure to poignantly remember Elian's late mother valiantly died for nothing courageously struggling to get him to "freedom". The Founders are turning in their graves. "Papa Fidel" must indeed be laughing his ass off, -- with good reason.

So must the heavily armed U.S. government thugs who "rescued" the boy in Miami several months ago with a highly questionable "search warrant". Hitler would have been proud. Congressional Republicans gutlessly stood by and did absolutely nothing, -- essentially allowing mob rule in a constitutional republic. After all, these illustrious "statesmen" had already squandered all their political capital earlier in an ill-advised impeachment of the President. Tomorrow, the Fourth of July, will indeed be a sad day this year for liberty and what this great country used to stand for.

Clicking on the About button above the Table of Contents, the visitor count proudly stands in excess of 20,100. Non-profit and unfunded by the readership it serves due to greed, gut-wrenching fear, and the continuing intimidation of corrupt and abusive Llano County officials, this publication remains as always beholden to NO ONE.

Tim Chorney, Publisher
_The Llano Ledger



Tim Chorney, Publisher
P.O. Box 997
Buchanan Dam Tx. 78609

llanoledger@mailcity.com

Page Updated Tue Oct 9, 2001 1:12pm EDT