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Travis County Commissioners Court

May 26, 2009,
Citizens Communication

View captioned video.

Citizens communication is next, this item gives residents an opportunity to address the court on any matter not on the agenda for up to three minutes.
ronnie reeferseed has signed in as has gus pena and jimmy castro and morris priest, in that order.

>> okay.
hot diggity Austin.
ronnie reeferseed here, I'm here to talk about nuclear proliferation which is again a top issue.
in fact throughout my lifetime it always has been.
jfk was assassinated for many examples of his leadership.
for one thing jfk refused, to -- israel with weapons of mass destruction.
david ben gurion would not stand for that, so he had jfk killed.
i believe our world has been spiraling into chaos ever since.
read final judgment by michael piper to learn more and find copies of this banned book, one needs to call (202)544-5977.
that's the phone number to american free press to get copies of michael colins many books such as final judgment, the new jerusalem, the judas goats, et cetera.
he insightfully tells us about the truth of the challenging controversial ideas that distinguishes his work.
american free press arose from the ashes of the spotlight.
for years now, afp has been exposing the fallacies about the military bankster media complex that rules our world.
to subscribe to the weekly newspaper american free press call (888)699-6397 toll free.
of course I do not agree with everything that I read there, but hey I don't even degree with myself 100% of the time.
however, I do believe there's no other paper that I can find that tackles more issues more strongly than the american free press.
again, just call them toll free (888)699-6397 to find out more and also a great source of information can be found for free every day on the f.m.
radio dial 90.1 f.m.
every day.
there are great shows like the alex jones broadcast, for example, from 11:00 a.m.
to 3:00 p.m.
weekdays, from 4:00 to 6:00 on Sunday afternoons.
alex jones' shows are continually rebroadcast on infowars.com on line, 24/7.
the best way for me to demonstrate my love for all of you is to help share information about how we can each help preserve the priceless gift of our sacred constitution.
liberty is the gift we take for granted but must be fought for every day.
many patriots have nurtured the tree of liberty with their blood which we only celebrate one day a year, memorial day.
it is up to all of us that we elect leaders who understand liberty and constant struggle for survival here.
liberty is not a given, it must be fought for with active citizenship.
let us all take the time to pay attention to what's really happening, american free press.net online.
infowars.com on line.
90.1 f.m.
radio right here in Austin.
thanks for your patience.

>> thank you, mr.
reeferseed.
mr.
pena.

>> good morning, judge, Commissioners, gus pena.
first and foremost we have been in dialogue with the governor's office regarding the stimulus package.
our efforts have remained fruitless in trying to encourage our governor to accept the funding for the various projects that are needed here in the state of Texas.
what is going to happen is I told his employees, assistants, the poor are going to get poorer, homeless will remain homeless, crime on the increase, I'm not saying it's correct, but people have to find ways to get money to feed their children, house their families.
anyway, governor perry I'm going to visit you one more time, your office this morning.
and if you have any kind of heart, you would accept this stimulus package.
i know that we're working on the unemployment insurance process and portion of the stimulus package.
nobody wants any small businesses to -- to lose their business, but we have to accept something in order to help out the people.
anyway, Commissioner Huber, 290 and mopac, one of the most dangerous intersections over there.
i know that you know it.
but I personally know it because we were nearly killed this that area, August the 30th.
so -- so maybe I recommend and suggest to you that you get together with -- with I guess txdot, the state of Texas, see what kind of strategy we can come up with to make it a more safer intersection.
i see collisions daily, I see people hurt.
maybe more reflectors on the railings in the nighttime, more traffic enforcement out there.
just not good.
june the 3rd is the last day of school.
please ensure that all mechanisms and funding are in place to put as many youth as possible to work.
again, we need tutors for -- for end of school exams that occur on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd day of June.
we're going to have a lot of kids out there not doing anything other than wandering around in the community or rec centers, put them to work, please.
ptsd, help our veterans get their housing and also treatment that they need.
budget.
judge and Commissioners, you know that I have been saying this for many, many months.
the non-profits are hurting for funding.
please, please, if there is any way possible, I know that the budgetary constraints, problem with money, but there's a lot of need out there, a greater need that is occurring as we speak now.
we need help for the poor, the needy, havenots and the homeless.
anyway, that's all that I have to say.
thank you very much and have a good day.

>> thank you.

>> mr.
castro.

>> thank you judge, good morning judge Biscoe, Commissioners.
my name is jimmy castro here to speak on my own behalf.
before I start, I would like to make a personal no.
i would like to support president obama's selection as a possible supreme court justice that will be announced later this morning.
she would make an excellent supreme court justice.
i'm here to remind everyone of the children's miracle network to benefit the dell children's medical center of central Texas, from Friday, may 31st, to Sunday June the 1st.
all money raised from the central Texas area during the celebration will be earmarked for the dell children's medical center of central Texas.
the dell children's medical center of central Texas is the only dedicated pediatric medical facility serving the 46 county region offering world class specialty care for families throughout central Texas.
some of the departments and programs of the dell children's medical center of central Texas include the topher emergency center which is one of only five dedicated pediatric e.
r.'s in Texas and the only one in central Texas.
the dell children's receives the support of the children's medical center foundation of central Texas.
and all the volunteers.
the level three neonatal intensive care unit provides 24/7 coverage by the most comprehensive care in the state for newborns and infants with medical or surgical problems.
the expanded dell children's surgery center is the only one in central Texas dedicated specifically to children.
the dell children's regional heart program will continue, distinguished history of service, to patients throughout the state and the world.
finally, what really makes the dell medical center of central Texas is people.
what makes it different is people, people can leave work each day knowing they have made the difference in the life of a child, thank you judge, Commissioners.

>> thank you, mr.
castro, mr.
priest.

>> welcome.
each and every one of you I gave a packet of information here.
this is from the city of Austin's Thursday report June agenda, item 13 is what I wanted to draw your attention to, for the reclassification for the Austin fire department.
as you will recall, I spoke before you before when the Austin fire department rescinded their contract and gave back their pay raises because they didn't want to lower their standards once again as well as other issues fighting with 1970's equipment and too numerous things to mention at this time.
but this ordinance that the city of Austin is having before them, on June the 11th, I would hope that you would recall your fellow -- that you would call your fellow workers and urge them not to pass this ridiculous ordinance.
first the process like the selection process was appalling.
you will see a letter from palmer buck that explains some of these things, characterizing this reclassification as an emergency which is extremely ridiculous, as well as financially irresponsible.
basically, we had a fire chief recently fired from the Austin fire department by the city management of the city.
and I know as you know, gus garcia, many other people complained about this issue.
it was really a step up for this fine gentleman that was fired from the -- from the Austin fire department to come from corpus christi and take on a city the size of Austin.
he was a fine man.
and I -- I know that he was pressured as his current fire chief was pressured to do what's being done now.
the situation that we have at the Austin fire department is -- we're adding, if you will look on the back letter from a letter from mac cox a structure of the fire department shows a diagram.
we're wanting to add more assistance fire chiefs to our fire department.
as you know, this is not a fiscally responsible approach to handling things in the fire department.
currently the two of the lieutenants that are -- that are asked to be assistant chiefs for the fire department are ranked 21 and 35 on the captain's list.
these -- these were fine men, but one of the lieutenants doesn't even have a captain's hat.
i know that -- that the chief hasn't talked, which I did talk to chief kerr, hasn't talked to 35 of the -- the 35 chief officers before bringing this before the council.
this is an item that is not supported by this community.
and -- in its entirety as well as rank and file of the Austin fire department.
the lack of adequate selection process hurts the credibility of the Austin fire chief.
we are wanting to give these gentlemen $40,000 raises overnight and promoting them above 279 other people.
i asked the fire chief why she didn't want one of the chiefs, a hispanic man, to be a -- there are two hispanic fire chiefs, to be a chief and I was really appalled by not only the display of ignorance that I saw at the city council by people in this community, mudslinging, our fire department is made up of brave men and women.
they are not --

>> [buzzer sounding] -- an embarrassment.
but I could talk for three hours on this subject, but I appreciate your time.
if you have any questions, give me a call.
and I hope that you will encourage the city of Austin to not go forward with this.
thank you.

>> thank you, mr.
priest.

>> thank you.

>> that does it for citizens communication.


The Closed Caption log for this Commissioners Court agenda item is provided by Travis County Internet Services. Since this file is derived from the Closed Captions created during live cablecasts, there are occasional spelling and grammatical errors. This Closed Caption log is not an official record the Commissioners Court Meeting and cannot be relied on for official purposes. For official records please contact the County Clerk at (512) 854-4722.


Last Modified: Tuesday, May 26, 2009 2:00 PM