The Boerne Star (Boerne, Tex.), Vol. 94, No. 3, Ed. 1 Friday, January 9, 1998 Page: 4 of 18
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The Boerne Star
Friday, January 9, 1998
Page 4
e BOERNE STAR •
iewpoints
Texans weigh in
on campaign
fianance reform
n large margins, Texans strongly sup-
port reforming federal campaign finance
laws by imposing limits on a broad
range of contri-
butions. My
annual ques-
tionnaire,
which your
newspaper
published last
August, asked
Texans to tell
me how they
feel about the
ongoing cam-
paign finance
1
Capitol
Comment
By
U.S. Senator
Kay Bailey Hutchison
reform debate. -------
Of those who
responded, 87 percent favor stricter limits
on contributions from non-citizen perma-
nent U.S. residents; 86 percent favor
stricter limits on labor unions’ contributions
and 71 percent said they support imposing
stricter limits on contributions by individu-
als.
Asked if you think there should be limits
on the amount of money individuals or orga-
nizations can spend to support or oppose
candidates or specific issues, 74 percent of
Texans answered yes. But only 22 percent
of you favor government funding of cam-
paigns.
Here are some of your comments on this
perplexing issue:
From Arcadia: “Individual contributions
should be unlimited because restricting
them would be a limit on free speech. I am
against government funding of any cam-
paigns.”
From Lake Jackson: “No contributions
should be allowed by any entity except a
(singular) qualified voter. Contributions
should only be acceptable from an individ-
ual’s current personal earnings or savings.
Corporations, foreign countries, labor
unions, trade associations, etc. are not vot-
ers and should be prohibited from giving
financial support to anyone or any party.
The U.S. Constitution is clear about qualifi-
cations to vote, and the same should apply
to contributors to political campaigns.”
From Aledo: “We are not even enforcing
our current laws. Deregulate individual con-
tributions, but require full, immediate dis-
closure. Forbid business and political action
committee (PAC) contributions, including
unions.” OmBh 1o .
From Port Isabel: “There should be a
clear-cut cap on campaign, contributions to
level the playing field. Special interests
should not be allowed to influence govern-
ment this way. Capping contributions would
allow them to represent us, not whoever
has the most money. Right now, when
money talks, government listens.”
From Vernon: “I think non-citizen perma-
nent residents should not be allowed to
contribute toward campaigns. If they are not
willing to become legal citizens, they should
not have a say in any area of government—
the buying of candidates needs to be
stopped. Candidates need to focus on what
is best for the United States instead of
pleasing special interest groups.”
From San Antonio: “The cost of cam-
paigns should be borne by the candidate
entirely, but with free TV and radio time.
That way the candidates would not be influ-
enced by corporate interests.”
From Hurst: “There shouldn’t be any lim-
its on spending or donations, but we should
require contributions and expenditures to
be reported within three days on a web site,
so everyone will know where support comes
from.”
From Blanco: “Public campaign finance is
a misuse of tax dollars. If you’re not a U.S.
citizen, you have no right to participate. The
whole system is out of control.”
From Garland: “It’s simple. Increase the
limit on what an individual can donate
(either individually or through a PAC or cor-
poration) to $5,000 for any legitimate candi-
date or party.
All congressional candidates should be
required to raise 75 percent of their funds
within their home state.
On the income tax returns, people could
select $10, $25 or write in up to $100 for
support of presidential and senatorial
races.”
From El Paso: “I believe in total freedom
for all people. Anyone from any country
should be able to donate or vote.”
. Congress will take up campaign finance
reform next spring. I have introduced a bill
designed to remedy the most significant
shortcomings in federal campaign finance
laws.
These new rules would help return control
of federal campaigns and elections to indi-
vidual voters. My bill:
• Limits to $250,000 the amount a Senate
campaign may reimburse
a candidate for loans the candidate
makes to his or her own campaign.
• Requires at least 60 percent of a Senate
candidate’s campaign funds to come from
individual residents of his or her home
state.
• Curtails the congressional franking priv-
ilege for mass mailings during election
years.
• Limits PAC contributions to the same
level as allowed for individuals; indexes this
uniform limit to the rate of inflation.
• Prohibits contributions from non-U.S.
citizens.
These are clear, workable reforms
designed to encourage greater political par-
ticipation while curbing the abuses that are
undermining pubic confidence.
Whatever you believe in the new year—it will be
f you believe that you
■ can—or that you can-
J not—you’re right!
As the new year unfolds,
I challenge you to shape
your destinies and make
this year the best one yet.
That can only be done if
your self-esteem is alive
and well.
Much has been said
about self-esteem. What is
it? How does it affect our
lives? How much happiness
and contentment can it
bring us? Where does it
begin? What seeds must
we plant in order to enjoy
the fruits of success?
Dr. Robert Anthony, in his
book, “Total Self-
Confidence,” exhorts us to
begin our growth process
by becoming more aware of
ourselves and of our sur-
roundings. He reminds us
that what we have in our
lives right now is an out-
ward manifestation of what
is in our minds.
We have literally attract-
ed everything that has
come into our lives—the
good, the bad, happiness,
sadness, success, and fail-
ure. Our thoughts become
the blue-prints, which
attract from our subcon-
scious all of the elements
that go into fulfilling our
concepts—positive or nega-
tive.
So, it becomes obvious
that in order to nourish our
self-esteem, we must first
become aware of whom we
are. How we feel about our-
selves crucially affects vir-
tually every aspect of our
lives.
Self-acceptance is a
refusal to deny or disown
our thoughts, emotions,
memories, physical attribut-
es, and actions. It is the
refusal to be in an adver-
sary relationship to our own
experience.
It is the foundation of all
growth and change. It is the
Breath
of
Fresh
Air
By Ken
Nietenhoefer
courage, in the ultimate
sense, to be ourselves. The
ultimate level of our self-
esteem will never be higher
than our level of self-accep-
tance.
According to Dr. Anthony,
we have chosen, con-
sciously or unconsciously,
to allow ourselves to be
right where we are. The
evidence indicates that we
would rather be in that situ-
ation than to pay the price
to change. How else can
one explain why overweight
people keep on complaining
about their weight instead
of losing some of it? Or
why some women go from
one abusive situation to
another? Or why some kids
keep on hanging out with
the same old gang instead
of moving on to a real life?
Many of us have permit-
ted our present environ-
ment to limit our thinking.
By allowing other people,
conditions, and circum-
stances to dictate our hap-
piness, we are literally
abdicating our lives to
someone or something out-
side ourselves.
We will never be free
until we learn to be true to
: ourselves and to accept full
responsibility for our own
lives. We must conceive in
our minds the world we
want to live in, the situa-
tions we want to master,
and the goals we want to
achieve.
We can change our feel-
ings, attitudes, and beliefs
by feeding our minds with
positive, constructive mes-
sages.
We can avoid negative
people. We can use posi-
tive self-talk.
We can associate with
positive, cheerful, opti-
mistic, success-oriented
people.
We can delay immediate
self-gratification in favor of—
long-term goals. We can set
goals and the means for
their achievement.
By employing a program
of self-discipline, we will be
able to build a healthy self
esteem. And self-content- -
ment. And success.
Go for it!
Ken Nietenhoefer is a business
and motivational speaker who
presents keynotes and seminars
throughout the country. KCN
Communications, Copyright
1997. Write to Nietenhoefer c/o
The Boerne Star, P.O. Box 820,
Boerne, Texas 78006.
WHEN I WAS
YOUNG, I DREAMED
OF BECOMING A PILOT
—THEN I MARRIED A
, RANCHER /
NOW
ALL I DO IS
PILE IT HERE
AND PILE IT
THERE!
-) pros 7
6 AL:
— COMIN'
—1 THIS SUI
ON
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Dying in bed was one Texas outlaw’s last mistake
A real relic of the Old
A West passed away
peacefully in his
sleep on Jan. 7, 1950
Texas Jack was a bona fide
badman who lived to tell
the tale but discovered that
nobody wanted to listen.
The self-proclaimed sole
survivor of “the 47 most
notorious bandits of the
Indian Territory” never
caught on as a twentieth-
century folk figure. While
the thrilling exploits of John
Wesley Hardin, Bill Longley,
Sam Bass and other noted
gunslingers captivated dime
novel readers and moviego-
ers, Texas Jack languished
in obscurity.
In spite of his nickname,
Nathaniel Reed was not a
native of the Lone Star
State. Born in Arkansas
during the Civil War, his
father was a casualty of the
Union cause. The orphaned
adolescent was forced to
fend for himself as a ranch
hand in the Oklahoma
Territory.
A foreman introduced the
youth to the fast buck, invit-
ing him along on a
Colorado train robbery.
Reed’s cut was $6,000,
which amounted to several
years of wrangling wages
and seemed to prove that
crime paid good money.
Riding from Texas to
California with first one
gang and then another,
Reed’s romantic illusions
about life on the lam were
soon replaced by the no-fun
reality of dodging posses
and bullets. He occasionally
had second thoughts about
his chosen career but never
mustered the courage to
turn himself in.
The classic petty crook
lived off the proceeds of his
last caper until hunger
pangs told him it was time
for the next. The 1888
stickup of a bank at
Riverside, Texas was fol- .
lowed by a train heist in
Arizona. Then came the
withdrawal in the Rio
Grande Valley responsible
for his erroneous nickname.
The 1891 robbery of the
Brownsville bank had all
the makings of a perfect
crime. The plan called for a
felonious cashier to have
$36,000 in neatly packaged
currency ready and waiting
for the half dozen thieves.
For his indispensable part,
the inside man was due to
receive a full share.
A company of Texas
Rangers swiftly picked up
the trail of the fleeing ban-
dits and chased them
halfway to the Red River.
During the hot pursuit, two
of Reed’s accomplices were
shot out of the saddle.
Days later at an
This Week in
Texas History
By
Bartee
Haile
Oklahoma hideout, the
weary fugitive finally
learned the reason for the
Rangers’ persistence.
Newspaper accounts esti-
mated the Brownsville take
at $86,000, a crippling blow
to a community in the days
before deposit insurance.
Since the gang made off
with a paltry six grand
apiece, Reed could only
presume the cashier
absconded with $50,000.
The same reports dubbed
the unknown leader of the
outlaw band “Texas Jack.”
Flattered by the flight of
journalistic fancy, Reed
readily adopted the colorful
alias.
Reacting to a wave of
hijackings in the Indian
Territory, the railroads
staffed their trains with
armed escorts, mostly
moonlighting lawmen. On
an isolated stretch of track
near Muskogee, Texas Jack
and three sidekicks stum-
bled into a deadly trap.
As his partners shot it out
with four guards, Reed
made the best of a bad sit-
uation by taking up a col-
lection from the frightened
passengers. However, when
he leaped from the rail car,
a slug tore through his hip.
Despite the painful
wound, Reed staggered to
his horse and made a
bloody getaway. But he was
in no shape to leave the
territory and feared capture
by the bounty hunters
combing the countryside.
Reed wisely contacted
Isaac Parker, the famous
“hanging judge” at Fort
Smith, Arkansas and
arranged a safe surrender.
Convinced that the prisoner
was not the brains of the
outfit, the federal magis-
trate promised him a light
sentence in exchange for
the identity of the mysteri-
ous mastermind.
Given a chance at
clemency, Texas Jack need-
ed no coaxing. He obliging-
ly fingered an upstanding
citizen named Jim Dyer as
the gang’s nefarious guru.
Reed’s reward for testifying
against his alleged boss
was a five-year prison term,
and he was out in two on
parole.
Dyer’s conviction was
overturned on appeal, and
a second jury found him not
guilty. Although Reed stuck
to his story, many believed
he had accused an inno-
cent man to save his own
skin. ---------
Texas Jack started the
new century by turning over
a new leaf. Trading his six-
guns for a Bible, he
preached the gospel as an
itinerant evangelist. He
earned a modest but legal
living from carnival appear-
ances and an autobiograph-
ical pamphlet entitled “The
Life of Texas Jack, Eight
Years a Criminal — 41
Years Trusting in God.”
His failure to interest
motion picture producers in
his life saga galled
Nathaniel Reed until his
dying day. The problem
was, of course, that Texas
Jack had not gone down
unrepentant with guns blaz-
ing — a serious breech of
the Wild West tradition.
Last chance to order your
1998 “This Week in Texas
History” calendar from Bartee
Haile, 1912 Meadow Creek Dr.,
Pearland, TX 77581 for $10. 95
(tax included) plus $3.00 ship-
ping and handling.
Worth Quoting ---
Bible Verse ...
The Boerne Star
282 N. MAIN • (UPS 059-740)
P.O. Box 820 • 830-249-2441
FAX 830-249-4607
THE BOERNE STAR (UPS 059-740) is published twice weekly for $28 per
year in Kendall and adjoining counties, $35 elsewhere in Texas and $50 per
year outside of Texas by the Boerne Star, 282 N. Main, Boerne, Kendall
County, TX. 78006. Periodical postage paid at Boerne, TX. POSTMASTER:
Send changes of address to THE BOERNE STAR, P.O. Box 820. Boerne,
Texas 78006-0820
"In the case of political and
even religious leaders, it is
often very doubtful whether
they have more
good or harm.
9
—Albert Einstein
Behold, the Lord’s hand is not
so short that it cannot save;
Neither is His ear so dull that
it cannot hear.
ISAIAH 59:1
Revised Standard Version
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Keasling, Edna. The Boerne Star (Boerne, Tex.), Vol. 94, No. 3, Ed. 1 Friday, January 9, 1998, newspaper, January 9, 1998; Boerne, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1626322/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Patrick Heath Public Library.