An Austin-based ethics watchdog filed complaints Monday with the Texas Ethics Commission against two State Board of Education members for not disclosing gifts they reportedly received from a firm seeking investment business with the board. The complaints filed by Texans for Public Justice urged the commission to determine whether Rick Agosto, D-San Antonio, and Rene Nuñez, D-El Paso, violated public disclosure laws.
This is the latest development in the growing controversy over ethics concerns involving the state board’s management of the Permanent School Fund. The more than $20 billion fund pays for textbook purchases. The Texas Freedom Network has also called on state legislators to investigate ethics concerns swirling around the board.
Mr. Agosto and Mr. Nuñez have denied that they violated any disclosure laws, and a state board committee discussed revising ethics policies at a meeting earlier this month.
All of this comes just months after the Texas Senate failed to give voters the opportunity to remove the state board’s authority over the Permanent School Fund and give it to a panel of finance experts. The Texas House had overwhelmingly approved measures doing so.
As most of you know, I attended a Southern Baptist Convention church for several years back in the 1980s. The fundies on the SBOE will no doubt interpret the referral of the filed complaints to the Texas Ethics Commission as a technical phenomenon known as, and I quote precisely, “falling under Satanic attack.” You can read up on the subject here:
http://www.matsati.com/SatanicAttack.pdf
I think the reference above would say that the intial point of a real Satanic attack comes when a person decides that it is okay to violate some ethical standard and then does it. My suspicion is that an awful lot of fundies would determine that the Satanic attack actually does not begin until they get caught with their fingers in the cookie jar. Down South, this is often spoken in Southern belle language as, “What? Little ole me? Pshaw!!!”
The indicted were elected by Democrats – no attack necessary.
Let’s see how quickly the Texas Taliban abandons Agosto now! He served his purpose, but he is now a liability and a Democrat to boot.
I’m not partisan and so I am joyful to see any dishonest person (of either or any party) be given the boot he/she deserves.