would like to know how my comment violated the user policy...

What about the latest one?

Sorry, I went away for the holidays. But in response to your qualifications, I don’t really care if you get a movie quote wrong, that does not disqualify you to run for county judge, however, I feel that you did disqualified yourself on 10/20/1999. But that’s just me.

according to the figure from original post 74 million spent or approved to create or save 126 jobs. Thats spending roughly 580,000 dollars per job created some of which were only temperary jobs lasting 2-6 months. We sure got a lot of return for that money spent. Give me 74 million and i bet I could have created more than 126 jobs. What a joke!!!! WE CAN"T AFFORD TO CREATE MANY JOBS AT THIS PRICE!!!!!

every one here is missing the real point. The bulk of the stimulas money won't even be spent until 2012 or later. How does this stimulate the economy today?? It doesn't!!! The only thing it does is buy votes in 2012.

Seems the dems like putting off spending money for a few years all the while raising the taxes from day one. Stimulas bill/ Healthcare bill both spend later/Tax now.

Instead of giving out 60,000 in raises they should have hired 3 new employees with that money it would have done more to help the economy by employing 3 people out of work now. This fuzzy math of calculating jobs saved is a con job because there is no way to refute or confirm these as actually saved or not in most cases.

If one looks at all the money spent listed in this post very few real jobs were actually created or saved for the huge amount of money spent and a lot of the jobs created were listed over and over so even they are questionable at best.

The only new jobs that are being created are thousands of new govt jobs to handle all the tons of new paperwork the govt will require to be filled out and submitted for approval by the govt. (MASSIVE GROWTH IN GOVERNMENT) all paid for with our tax money. No real private secter jobs in any number have or will be created for the nearly 2 trillion spent in the stimulas and healthcare bills and the future cost of these new ENTITLEMENTS will be a huge drain on the economic well being of this countries population.

And what hole did i dig for myself? And if there is such a hole, cant i always just plead no contest to then wait for the time to pass for everyone to forget?

Gren - "Can’t fix stupid? Let me guess you work for VISD don’t you."

Hau-boy! At some point you just gotta cut your losses.

While we're throwing around movie quotes, here's one you should memorize: "The country needs ditch-diggers, too." I have a hunch you'd do just fine with that hole you keep digging for yourself.

They buy you with your own money.

TxEx..... Are you employed by Victoria law enforcement? How do you come up with these allegations against Matt?

I have asked three character questions that he will not answer and has not answered. Perhaps someone else will look further.

So folks, "Does the federal package work?"

Is crystal meth nutritious? Does a $50k credit line make you wealthy? NO & NO. The stimulus package perpetrates the age-old deception of using artificial means to reach unsustainable ends. As our good buddy Peter Schiff says, the stimulus package will be a depressant for the economy.

I feel sorry for those who have retirement accounts that will be worthless once the magnitude of the Fed's money supply inflation is realized.

Now I am just curious as to what he said!

How has TxEx not been banned from this site for the countless slanderous remarks he/she has made against Matt Ocker? When has he/she genuinely ventured to get a straight issues-related answer from him? It seems the only reason he/she posts is for an opportunity to wrongfully insinuate that Matt's a convict or the next Ratliff. I've never seen a troll stoop so low.

Luckily, the Advocate has obtainable IP address logs. Hopefully, they keep records of deleted libelous comments.

Thank you for answering the question. That is all I wanted to know. Sadly it took nearly 2 full days to get the answer as well as insults from what seem to be your supporters. But hey im an 8 year old dude…

But I did not twist any of your words I only responded to what you said. I did not take what you said and infer a different meaning. I did however challenge you to answer a question and eventually you did answer.

Gren....
Like I told txex.... Why don't you host a formal "Q" and "A" forum for Matt Ocker. But "gren", you better do your home work.

Gren, I work as an engineer for a private business that hasn't given raises in 18 months due to the recession, and everyone understands that it's saving jobs. Why is this concept so foreign to you?

Gren, how does this not answer your question:
"So while the taxpayers are making less money, the guvmint decided to hand out more of our money to Advocates for Children and Families, Inc. for salary increases, then has the nerve to give themselves a gold star for "saving jobs"?"

i wanna play.

ok, burn the first one. hit me. UNO!

Can’t fix stupid? Let me guess you work for VISD don’t you. And Bsspotter you want a civil conversation when your guy wants to use the answer of electrolytes as an answer to anything? Are these the constituents you have acquired?

You say that I put words in your mouth and I proved to you that I did not. Sorry if that offends you. But I am glad to see that you can poke fun at serious questions that you refuse to answer. What question did you not answer how about this one.

However you do state that you are against the raises during a recession and being that you are going to run for an office that decides the budget for the county which includes money for the employees of the county it is fair to say that as long as there is a recession you do not feel that anyone working for the county needs to have a raise until the recession is over. Is this correct?

Answer that question please with a simple yes or no, there is no need for political rhetoric.

However I do appreciate your candid responses at the end of your statements, it not only shows your ignorance, but also your smug demeanor.

Thank you for playing, have a nice day, Shalom.

Matt Ocker....
"What we have here...is a failure to communicate."
It is so good to see you have a sense of humor. It shows that you are capable of being "real". You have been clear in your retorts with "Gren" and "Txex". These guys have been dumped down by society's norms of today. Mr. Ocker, here is some advice in understanding "gren" and "txex"..... In the wise words of Ron White; "You cain't fix stupid."

Gren, is your adversarial approach rooted in the honest pursuit of truth, or do you have a narrow agenda to discredit Matt at the cost of truth, like TxEx? Would you like to have a civil conversation on the subject of stimulus, or is your goal to antagonize Matt with perpetual contrariness?

And the questions about where you stand still go unanswered. Guess you have convinced your self that not answering grants your access to the high road. I guess you can put that into the section of your principles on your web site since your have not been able to discover any to add as of yet.

The unemployment rate is higher than we would like for it to be and there are more businesses closing than we'd like but the stimulus money has been released and it is on the way...any day now...next month for sure.

Fruitless banter

Actually the original phrase is “what we’ve got here is failure...to communicate” from a film in 1967 named Cool Hand Luke. I am assuming that is what you are referring to since the entire line is “What we've got here is... failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach. So you get what we had here last week, which is the way he wants it... well, he gets it. I don't like it any more than you men.”

Odd that you would choose that line to comment back since in the beginning of the scene a man is being beat down for being disrespectful.

That’s one way to respond to a question that was asked.

Umm so yea, there were other points in my posting. I guess you are choosing to, what is the word to use since you like synonyms but hate the word ignore…ill let you pick one of the following: disregard, neglect, omit, skirt, circumnavigate, or avoid. Granted they do not all fit properly, but ya know…

Since you asked me to pick apart your statements I will oblige you in doing so.

First of all, you are the one not bragging about your business making over $1million in just three years.

Your fist accusation of me putting words in your mouth was nothing of the sort; it was a question I asked in full faith of which I was wanting a response. The second statement I asked you several questions and you choose not to answer them, instead you stated that you see no reason to proceed further. In essence you ignored me or do you have a different synonym for that word.

The changing of the wording from retained to saved does in fact change the meaning of the statement especially since you quoted the statement not once, but twice. The word retained in this context means that it kept the people who working in those position at the same organization. The word saved in this context means that since these jobs get a bump in pay they will not be eliminated. From reading the article, it does not say that these jobs were under consideration to be eliminated due to lack of funds, instead the extra monies kept valuable employees working in their same positions. Just because a word is a synonym does not mean that it will always have the exact meaning, you have to look at the context of the entire statement.

I do understand your reasoning behind the no raise for anyone during a recession. However in order to stop the recession the tax payers need to spend money. If people are given a raise, they will earn more money, and then spend more money, thus helping end the recession. However you do state that you are against the raises during a recession and being that you are going to run for an office that decides the budget for the county which includes money for the employees of the county it is fair to say that as long as there is a recession you do not feel that anyone working for the county needs to have a raise until the recession is over. Is this correct?

The amount of money may very well be enough to keep people in the area doing their jobs. People who work to better the lives of children are not always in the field for the money and for the most part it is a thankless job. There have been at least two people stated on here who did not even know the organization existed so even a little bit of money that is asked for and granted can be enough to keep people in their field.

Finally if this is something that you cannot fix in your hopeful successful election, then why would you write something that is politically motivated by telling people to research and vote for the right choice come March and November?

Txex.....
I challenge you in setting up a “Q” and “A” forum for Mr. Ocker after he has filed to run for county judge. You may have noticed in another post Mr. Ocker mentioned he turned in all verified registered voter signatures needed. I’m sure he is waiting for the go ahead .from George Mathews at the elections office before he files. Wouldn’t that make since to you? I’m sure it would not.
Mr. Ocker will answer more questions concerning topics such as “federal stimulus packages” and anything else you can come up with. But you had better do your home work.

Fist please tell me what words I put in your mouth. If you are referring to the statement that you made where you misquoted the story saying the jobs were saved and I corrected you saying the jobs were retained then that was not putting words in your mouth, that was correcting your mistake.

Remember your main objection was the fact that Advocates for Children and Families was awarded monies to give salary raises to those who achieved a college degree. From your own statements you are against this, mainly because it was not a significant amount of money. So are you against rewarding people or against the dollar amount they were rewarded?

Can you please point out the other area where I supposedly put words in your mouth?

Furthermore, I do understand the language you are speaking. It is that of the politician who will subtly point out obvious flaws with the current administration and then promise to fix them, but refuses to say exactly how the problems will be fixed.

But I am glad to see that you have shown one of your qualifications. You state that your company grosses over $1 million in just three years so this means you are a rich businessman who wants to hold an office. Sounds like the average conservative running the county now.

Finally I do hope to attend one of the public debate sessions since I would not want to seem to be one who hides behind a computer screen as you so eloquently put.

According to the website, "Advocates for Children and Families, Inc., a local non-profit organization, administers Head Start in Calhoun, DeWitt, Gonzales, Jackson, Lavaca and Victoria Counties. The Department of Health, Education and Welfare pays up to 80% of the cost. The remaining expenses must be met through local contributions of space, volunteer time, donations of materials and supplies, and other services."

Don't see a thing about the counties contributing. I had never heard of them either. If they had just called them Head Start from the get-go, it would have saved me having to look them up.

Don't think Ocker is lacking if he doesn't know this. Not part of the County Judge's responsibilities.

Mr. Ocker,

Have you officially filed? If so, will you be transparent in discussing your plans for the county? Will you be transparent in discussing your qualifications? Will you be transparent in disucssing what in your past makes you qualified? What are we going to find out about you that might raise a red flag?

You are a running for an elected position and should want to earn my vote. Are you saying that you are just hoping people vote for you since you will be a different face sitting in the same big chair? I hope other people read the comments made and realize that you choose not to answer any questions that I put forth instead you gave up and choose to ignore me. Sounds a lot like what we already have in office.

Actually it is not a very big leap at all, it is in direct response to the words you chose to use. Your three point bulletin is misleading.
1. yes some tax payers are making less money
2. The guvmit (insert good ole boy mentality here which we already have enough of in Victoria) did not take more money, if people are making less, they are taking less.
The federal tax rate did not go up how do you justify this statement.
3. It did not say that the raise saved their jobs, it says it retained them which was the point of my response. Please read more carefully.
4. Can you show that the tax money that was used for this organization came directly from the pockets of people in this area?
5. You have never heard of Advocates for Children and Families? And you want to run for a position with the county who approves the budget for such things? You are making my case for not voting for you stronger by the day.
So you are saying that a $1,200 a year raise when the economy is in the toilet is not worth giving so then don’t give it? These people were rewarded for achieving a goal and acquiring a degree from school. According to your own web site you are in school. Do you and your classmates expect to make the same amount of money when you graduate? If so, then why bother.

“You say these folks could have taken similar jobs in other cities, making almost twice as much. Is this a recent development?”

No it has been this way for many many years. It is a proven fact that Victoria Texas does not pay the same as other cities do. For example:

Nurses in Victoria make around $17 an hour, in Houston around $19, Austin around $20
Police officers (no degree required, but usually 60 semester hours) in Victoria just over $19 an hour, Houston, $24, Austin $25, and San Antonio $22
The crime victim’s assistant job listed on the city website pays just under $14; the same job pays $22 in Houston and $19 in Austin
Crisis worker dealing with suicidal and homicidal people in Victoria around $16, Austin around $20, Houston around $22.

Granted some of this is due to the higher cost of living in the cities mentioned, but it isn’t that much higher to offset the extra money.

Another thing you said:
“I guess I just have more compassion for those who are unemployed, underemployed, or struggling. It is these people whose money is being spent.”

I don’t follow. If you have more compassion then don’t you want more money going to these people? And if they are not employed then they are not paying income taxes and we are not spending their money as you put it.

And as you so politically correctly put it, I’m not going to play the gotcha game either or ask if you care. But I will say that I’m not one of the people on here drinking your kool aid.

So Matt are you saying the the people who work to make childrens lives better and safer do not disserve the extra money? Do you know how much they get paid and what type of degree they have to have to even work there? I do. Typically they have to have at least a bachelors degree or prefered a masters and the average take home pay is around $2k a month after taxes and insurance.

So in a sence the money did save jobs because it kept those people with degrees in the area working to help our children instead of leaving the area and possibly making almost twice as much in Houston, Austin, or San Antonio!

Take a look at the City of Victoria web site under available jobs and you will see there is a job that is requesting a person to have a bachelors degree and it pays less than $14 an hour...thats less than $30k a year BEFORE taxes...If this is your stand, then i do not need to do any homework come election time, i already know who not to vote for

If the stimulas bill would have spent all 800 billion now it might STIMULATE the economy. But most of that money won't be spent til 2011-2012 Just in time for PRES OBAMA'S re-election bid ( NICE TIMING OR WHAT). What a joke!!!! WAKE UP AMERICA WE ARE BEING PLAYED FOR A FOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I thought all that money was to be spent on shovel ready projects not saved to dump into the economy just before the 2012 elections?? What a con job!!!!

WHAT the ???

That doesn't even make sense?? SAVED JOBS??? which one did it save???? none were in danger of losing the job to begin with all that was is a lame payraise for 60 people. That much money could have been used to hire another person and then it would have created a real job. Not that we need any more govt. employees but 1 new job is better than 60 raises. And Stephen Jabbour's fuzzy math quote is plan insulting to anyone with a brain. Just because the unemployment dipped a little over previous month (DO TO HOLIDAY TEMP JOBS) is NOT a sign the recovery or stimulas is working. He must think we are stupid if he thinks we will buy that load of crap.

gov't needs to stimuli the permits to build the nukes...in both Matagorda and Victoria...very slow process, by the time it is complete it will take more than a stimulus to help people