In his Southeast Texas Political Review posting on Monday, Philip takes a hatchet to the subject of David Bellow, a conservative Republican who is running for the Precinct 4 seat on the Hardin County Commissioners Court:
The Review has learned that a complaint has been filed with the Ethics Commissioner regarding Bellows refusal to file the proper Campaign Contribution and Expense report with the county. According to documents reviewed by the Review this afternoon, Bellow filed a report on January 22, 2010 which was wildly incomplete. As well, he did not file his proper report on January 15, 2010 and never filed the period report properly for February 1, 2010.Klein's ignorance of Texas campaign law is stunning. No complaint has been filed with the "Ethics Commissioner," since there are actually eight commissioners on the Texas Ethics Commission. As of today, there are no sworn complaint orders against David Bellow.
Furthermore, there was no report due on January 22, 2010, according to the Texas Ethics Commission. I have no doubt that any report from January 22, 2010 was "wildly incomplete," since no candidate in the State of Texas filed a report for that date.
Instead the TEC required two finance reports with these deadlines: January 15, 2010, and February 1, 2010. Klein clearly states that Bellow never filed these reports properly.
Note the time stamps below on Bellow's real reports, obtained from the Hardin County Clerk's office. I've redacted David's personal information, but you can click on the image to download full copies of the original reports, the ones that Klein claims were never filed properly:
Klein's blatant lies are actionable as defamatory speech. I would recommend David Sheffield as a potential attorney, but he's currently unable to practice private law due to his position as the Hardin County District Attorney.
According to sources inside the Department of Defense, political sources and Below himself, the Review has learned that David Below signed up post graduation from Texas A&M University to a program called "College First" which Bellow enlisted in the Army National Guard. According to the US Army - "College First" is a program where enlistees enroll in college courses on a full time basis at a college or university in the United States for two years, then report for active duty for two years. The "College First" enrollee gets not only money for college by some stipend money for living expenses from time to time.Apparently, Klein's "sources inside the Department of Defense" aren't aware of the requirements of the College First program:
The Army offers a unique enlistment incentive called "Army College First," that allows college students to enlist in the Army in the Delayed Enlistment Program (DEP), continue with their college education, receive a monthly stipend from the Army, then enter the Army at the advanced rank of E-4 (if at least 30 college credits were earned under the program). Depending on MOS (job), individuals may also be eligible for a $3,000 "College First" Enlistment Bonus.In other words, this applies to active duty soldiers in the U.S. Army, not members of the Army National Guard. If this were true, I doubt that Bellow would have been named the Army National Guard Battalion Soldier of the Year for 2009-2010. What's your take on that, Philip?
Klein further claims:
The Review has learned, and verified through DOD last week that Bellow has enlisted and enrolled and was paid for the program. Bellow is supposed to be a full time student at a University or College. The Review has found - he is neither.I showed mine, but Philip won't show us his documentation to substantiate his outright fiction.
The Review has obtained DOD documents showing that...Bellow is enrolled as a part time theological student at Liberty Online University. This is an online program for those wanting to study theology and is NOT a full time university or college.
PRK's ignorance of post-secondary education is embarrassing. Jerry Falwell founded Liberty University, which is now the largest Christian university in the world. The school and its distance learning program are fully-accredited and Bellow is indeed enrolled as full-time student seeking a Masters in Theological Studies, after graduating with a BS degree in Political Science from Texas A&M University.
In other words, M. David Bellow is enrolled in a Baptist Seminary, seeking an advanced degree from a credible Christian university. Phillip R. Klein is a dropout who has a hard time with fundamental reading, writing, and comprehension skills.
Klein claims:
David Below may have lied to the military regarding his current status as a "full time student" which may land him in jail - or better yet to the front lines in Iraq within "the next two weeks."According to Klein, David Bellow will be in Iraq or jail by March 3, 2010. The clock is ticking. Klein promises his own investigation:
The Review will file a FOIA to the DOD in the morning for David Bellow's complete enlisting forms and proof of college enrollment to the DOD as soon as the doors open on Tuesday morning.Readers may remember the last time I goaded Klein into producing documentation to back up his spurious claims. I hope Philip's purported documents spell the candidate's name correctly this time. We'll revisit, many times I'm sure. I'm still waiting for those cases to be "refilled" in Hardin County.
Perhaps Klein's deceit and course language are evidence of demonic possession (vulgarities are edited):
What the h*** is going on up in Hardin County with this guy? How in the h*** is anyone taking him seriously.I've often felt the same way about Philip R. Klein. When Philip produces documentation for these charges, I'll destroy the rest of his argument. There is so much more - from his reader mail page:
We don't make it up.Yes he does.
Disclaimer: After last week's dialogue with some readers over the Oscar Ortiz phone calls, I think it's important to reiterate that the scope of Operation Kleinwatch is to identify Philip R. Klein's bias and fallacious logic, to offer critical analysis of his opinions, and to fact-check his bizarre claims, half-truths, and malicious libel.
These are solely my opinions from the perspective of a moderate independent and do not imply an endorsement of any candidate. There is one exception in the current races: a vote for Cornelius Williams is a vote for the BISD administration, in my opinion.
In the Ortiz incident, I believe that city officials made the greatest mistake by disregarding citizens to pursue a clearly political agenda, an alternative viewpoint to Klein's bias. In this case regarding David Bellow, I believe that Philip R. Klein has manipulated the truth and hysterically manufactured spurious charges again to further a political agenda, not necessarily his own.
31 comments:
David, you should sue the crap out of that SOB.
don't think Bellow wants the headaches of owning a second-rate pee eye agency in Nederland. how's that mcdermott thing coming along, Phillip? Will we see that on Channel 4 anytime soon?
I know for a personal fact that Klein's head has done 360's on several occasions.
thanks for exposing Klein's lies! David Bellow is a good man trying to do good things!
U B BUSTED AGAIN.
In this report, not only is the NAME of the secondary degree incorrect, as I was just told the other day by Bellow himself the correct name of the degree he is pursuing, but he is also required to be in a residential program to qualify for the program. the program Bellow is in with Liberty University is NOT a residential program, but a "blended program," with most of the work completed online. It's also not an "advanced" degree, but one described on Liberty University's own website as "The Master of Arts in Theological Studies program is geared toward individuals seeking an introductory graduate degree in religion for service in a supportive role in their local church. Courses include surveys of the Old and New Testament and systematic theology, providing students with a solid foundation from which to understand the fundamentals of the Bible, Christianity, Christian theology, and the Christian church." I don't really see how THIS introductory degree has anything to do with county politics, or how in the world it would help him in his abilities to perform as a county commissioner.
Bellow told me that even if he was called into active duty, "they" (not sure who they are) would not send him because "they" want him to enter officer school because the army national guard is in great need of officer chaplains.
So, if you want to get down to it, Bellow is enrolled in a "graduate program" that doesn't even require the prospective student to take the GRE, and the minimum GPA in undergraduate studies can be as low as 2.0. That's a "C" people. Sounds like a really tough program to get into. Most graduate schools don't even allow a student in unless they have a 3.0 GPA in their undergraduate work, as well as a high GRE score, and in most cases, a formula of both combined. Pretty much anyone could get into this program, so let's not start handing out the accolades just yet. He also claims that he's graduating this summer. However, when I spoke to him just a few months ago, and we spoke IN DEPTH about his academics, he never mentioned he was in a graduate program. Seems odd to me.
Am I saying that Klein's entire story is true? No. But I am saying, where there's smoke, there's usually fire. There's a little truth in every "tall tale."
I don't care how conservative or Christian you are; neither of those are needed to perform well in the office in which Bellow seeks. Let's get real.
And if he's such a great guy, then why in the world hasn't he made a way for himself like a real man, instead of living off mom and dad. And, why would someone with a degree in Political Science be working on an ambulance? That doesn't seem odd to anyone else?
Oh, and David Bellow also told me that most of his would be constituents "don't have a degree at all, much less a graduate degree, because most 'normal' people don't even have a degree." Sounds like he really respects the people of Lumberton.
Bellow loved on his own plenty and owns several different properties. Bellow moved back in with his mother who is DYING of cancer because his mother has 2 small kids who need taked care of when she is gone for treatments. You are messes up if you think there is something wrong with that
the last commenter knows that klein completely lied about this young man so instead of mentioning that Klein lied this commenter is attacking Bellow for being a Christian and persuing a higher knowledge of God through an ACCREDITED masters degree program. Read your history. Most of the founding fathers who signed the declaration of independance were not only pastors who went to seminary but were very openly Christian and founded America on those Christian principles. A Christian foundation is great for anyone getting into politics because you have a good sense of right and wrong and have a genuine desire to help the people.
You do know he has a regular degree in political science from A&M right? I would say that is education relevant to being in politics. You are nitpicking about a MASTERS degree and overlooking the fact that he had 5 years at A&M and earned a degree in political science
There is something wrong with the person who posted the last comment. Must be a friend of Kleins
David spent most of his over 6 months active duty 2 years ago at Fort Sam Houston training to be a combat medic. I think it is great that he chose to still be a medic in the civilian world because medics are in need and save people's lives! it is a very unappreciated job and the person who commented about why david is a medic should be ashamed for insulting all the intelligent medics who choose to do that hard job and go out on long shifts saving people's lives. And I love Klein is attacking a soldier in the military when Klein has never spent a day of his life in the military!
Only Phil could post this headline:
"Klein's Speech To The GOP Woman That Was Canceled!"
Dugas and Bellow may be second-rate politicians but Klein is an Nth-degree dumbass.
I wouldn't trust Klein to investigate my dog crapping in the yard...lol
anon 7:48 what really seems seems odd to me is that you yourself called it a introductory degree and then also called it a graduate degree. I thought all Masters degrees were considered graduate degrees so make up your mind.
You didn't say a thing about those lies about the filing dates and how Bellows never filed his reports. I live in Hardin county too and just decided to vote for him. Thanks for helping me make up my mind.
So, if you have a degree in political science, you shouldn't be working as an EMT?
BTW: Other than teaching high school civics, what can you do with a political science degree. The B.S. Poly-sci degree normally is a stepping stone to grad school of some sort.
Also, the last I checked, the Southwestern Baptist Seminary in Ft Worth only required a 2.0 to entry to their graduate program.
I'll take a man with a divinity masters degree from a seminary any day over most of the yahoos on the Hardin county commissioners court.
After reading these comments, it sounds like business as usual in Hardin county to me, home of good ole politics...ROTFLOL. Great job, Gus. Never knew what a hack Klein really was until you came along.
"It is a battle for the heart and sole of Hardin County," said the fat man.
I frankly don't have much interest in local politics, but I must respond to Anonymous 8:18, who made the shocking claim that "Most of the founding fathers who signed the declaration of independance were not only pastors who went to seminary but were very openly Christian and founded America on those Christian principles." If you do actually read your history, not a single signer of the Declaration of Independence was a pastor. Most were indeed Christians of some stripe, with a few deists such as Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin in the mix as well. The deists believed in God as "divine clockmaker," who made the universe then left it to its own devices. By their reckoning, God is not involved in our daily lives.
The claim that the United States is founded upon "Christian principles" is subject to dispute, in the following sense. The primary religious objective of the founders was to secure religious freedom for all Americans. Before freedom of religion was ever established in the Bill of Rights, the various state constitutions passed after 1776 ushered in principles of religious freedom. No longer, as had been the case in Virginia and other colonies, would anyone be required by law to pay a tax in support of a church, or to belong to a particular church to vote or to hold office. The Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom, penned by Thomas Jefferson in 1786, declares that no man shall suffer on account of his religious opinions or beliefs. This was the overriding concern of the founders: to separate church and state. The founders had absolutely no intention of letting their government dictate morality to "the people," which, as I understand it, is precisely what David Bellow constantly attempts to do in Lumberton. The failed experiment in Prohibition at the national level should offer him some lesson, but that's only if we all read our history, as Anonymous 8:18 mistakenly believes he or she has done.
I invite everyone to consult any reputable history text to verify the accuracy of my information.
27 signers of the Declaration of Independence had seminary degrees from places like Harvard, Yale, and Princeton which were all originally founded as Christian universities with the Bible as the main text. Non one is forcing one religion on anyone else and the founding fathers would not want that. But the our rights and freedoms are founded on Christian principles and no one should try to re--write history to try to say that is wasnt. Stop trying to take God out of the pledge and off of our money. It is a part of America's foundation and cannot be denied.
Darren Lehrmann is the new general manager at KBTV. Wonder how long will it take him to fire the guy who handed a mike to Klein?
A few comments with respect to Anonymous 1:32:
Holding a degree from Harvard, Yale, or Princeton is one thing. Being a pastor, by occupation, is another. To my knowledge, no signers of the Declaration of Independence were pastors. If you have evidence to the contrary, please provide a citation to a reputable, printed scholarly work, or their names so that I may look them up, and I will happily recant. I enjoy intellectual exchange and acquiring new knowledge.
I am in complete agreement with 1:32 that the founders did not want to force religion on anyone; however, it is a logical fallacy to argue, on the basis of my previous post, that I want to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance or off of our money. First, I am a Christian, an imperfect soul but active in my church, who believes if we all strove to be more like Jesus the world would be a much better place. A few daily reminders of God's presence in our lives should be threatening to no one, assuming their God is as great as mine (and I suspect He is). Second, the founders created neither the Pledge of Allegiance (written in the 1890s, with "under God" added later) nor the "In God We Trust" motto on our money, which first appeared during the Civil War. I'm not arguing that those things should be changed, but if they someday were, it would not be an assault on the founders since the founders had nothing to do with their creation.
I certainly wish our elected leaders would demonstrate morality rather than merely pay it lip service. One would like to think that we could look to our elected officials as models for us to emulate. But there is an important distinction between demonstrating morality and imposing one's unique moral sensibility on others. That, in a nutshell, is my primary objection to David Bellow.
I respect his right to pursue a theological degree. (If I were his academic advisor, I would encourage him to eschew online "education" altogether, but that is another matter.) No one should be ridiculed or persecuted for wanting to know more about his or her God. It only becomes problematic when someone infused with the spirit seems to want to create a theocracy, which the founders certainly had no intention of doing, as demonstrated by the fact that they created no religious test for officeholding.
I apologize for going on for so long. I find this discussion thread very interesting, how one man running for commissioner has opened a window onto issues of such import.
Re: Darren Lehrmann, the new GM at KBTV.
I hope he's checked out this site and also Sam the Eagle (www.notthisonetoojacques.blogspot.com/)
to read the truth about Philip Klein.
Lyman Hall and John Witherspoon were both pastors that signed the Declaration of Independence.
This is Hardin County we're talking about...Presbyterians don't count. The real question is how many heathens like Phillip Klein signed the Declaration of Independence?
> But there is an important distinction
> between demonstrating morality
> and imposing one's unique moral
> sensibility on others. That, in
> a nutshell, is my primary objection
> to David Bellow.
Not sure I follow your logic,
I assume you mean his petition to put liquor sales in Lumberton to a vote.
Since you must live in Hardin County, too, you probably remember that residents voted no, but the elected officials found a way to void the election on a technicality in the original petition.
After a second petition was submitted, verified, and validated, the County Commissioners Court tabled the issue for a month then voted to refuse the petition.
I think that not giving citizens a chance to vote on a public referendum is something the founding fathers clearly tried to avoid. So, I can't see how letting the residents decide the issue means "imposing one's unique moral sensibility on others." Please explain.
And then there's the elephant in the room...Bellow is running against County Commissioner Bobby Franklin, who voted against the citizens of Lumberton.
Franklin is also one of those elected officials in Hardin County who can't make up his mind about which party he belongs to. With the timing of his announcement, it certainly looks like a decision based on political expediency. The first time I voted for Franklin in the general election, he was a Democrat. This time I'm voting for a Republican and it's not Bobby Franklin.
Klein's getting booted? Ya'll let me know when it's safe to watch Channel 4 again.
Philip Klein wasn't what our founding fathers had in mind either.
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
-- Thomas Jefferson
Bobby Franklin was also against the senior citizen tax freezes several years ago and he also could not change the torn flag at the the county veterans memorial park he is over. and all Bellowdid was allow the people of Lumberton a chance to decide for themselves what they want and he never tried to impose anyhting on anyone.
I wanted to thank 4:51 for passing along the names of Hall and Witherspoon. Hall indeed studied for the ministry and had a brief, somewhat scandalous career in the pulpit, but spent the bulk of his life as a physician. Witherspoon had a much more prestigious ministerial career, but by 1768 had become president of Princeton, serving in that post into the 1790s.
The public referendum is a product, not of the revolutionary period, but of the Progressive era in the early twentieth century. The founders actually had a profound distrust of the public. They feared the public could be misled by demagogues and make erroneous decisions at the ballot box. That was why, in the Constitution, senators were originally chosen by state legislators rather than through direct election (which changed in 1913 with the ratification of the 17th Amendment). Distrust of the public also partly explains the creation of the electoral college as an intermediary between the voters and the selection of the president. On these issues, I encourage anyone to read Jack Rakove's Pulitzer Prize-winning book Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution.
Regarding the liquor question, my point is simply that, in my opinion, it ought not be a political issue at all. Let me preface my remarks by saying that 99 out of 100 days, I don't drink alcohol (and I don't make up for it on the 100th), and while I recognize its potentially deleterious effects when consumed immoderately, I am not convinced I have the right to tell a fellow citizen he or she cannot purchase the product in Lumberton. If people want to get their drink on, they will get their alcohol, regardless of the obstacles. Forbidding its sale in one location doesn't seem to accomplish much when it's available right down the road. More selfishly, I just wish Lumberton could get some really nice restaurants (sorry, Catfish Cabin), which won't happen as long as the alcohol question hangs out there.
If only there was a candidate for ANY office who could fix the traffic issue . . .
Thanks for the long-winded and biased history lesson. The notion of a public referendum as direct democracy dates back to the founding of the original English colonies. Many townships in New England still govern by the Town Meeting. I would recommend reading any standard history text for further information.
I'm still not sure how your personal anecdotes and liquor consumption are relevant to the issue of denying residents the right to decide liquor sales for themselves.
I do agree with you, however, that Bobby Franklin's vote against the citizens of Lumberton does indeed constitute "imposing one's unique moral sensibility on others."
The federal government was meant to be a representative republic which means no direct voting of issues because new york would always be able to elect who became president if it went by population and the other states would not get a voice. So each state has, for instance, 2 senators who are equal to anty other states senators. So yes, in the FEDERAL government there is no direct democracy and that was done in order to protect states rights. But in STATES and LOCAL governments the people are in control. In state and local governemt direct democracy is practiced and embraced so that the people can control their own state and local goverments. For instacnce, the people of Texas voted to ban gay marriage and the people of texas directly decide who the governor is.... state and local is all about direct democracy. Federal governemt is meant to preserve states rights and local control so there is no direct democracy and instead it is all representative. In other words, Texas is not going to tell communities in New York not to sale alcohol, but the communities within Texas and the communities within new york can sure decide for themselves if they want bars and liquor stores in their own community.
Anon 2:00 - are you seriously suggesting that citizens shouldn't be allowed to vote on the liquor issue? You must be a fan of Philip Klein.
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