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Motion to Compel Leader-Press to Disclose Evidence
Set for Hearing in 52nd District Court December 9th
On the 27th of October attorneys for Bill Thomas filed a Motion to Compel Production against Larry Hauk, Paul Gately,
David Tuma and Copperas Cove Newspaper Inc. (Operating name of the Copperas Cove Leader-Press).
The motion filed by Dan Corbin, Killeen attorney on behalf of Bill Thomas is intended to force compliance with disclosure
requests from the Defendants regarding here to date undisclosed evidence requested months ago by the Plaintiff (Bill Thomas).
As is typically the case in civil cases, a drawn out period of preparation by both the plaintiff and the defendant’s attorneys
consists of demands for disclosure of evidence by each party in preparing the case for trial.
One of the initial requests for disclosure came from the defendants for Mr. Thomas to disclose his military record. Mr.
Thomas complied with this request within a matter of days. As is the normal quid per quo in such matters Mr. Thomas’s
attorneys countered by requesting the disclosure of the military records from Mr. Hauk and other executive and management
people in the Leader-Press. The request from Mr. Thomas’s attorneys was submitted on the 6th of December 2007. After
repeated attempts to get the defendants (Larry Hauk, Paul Gately, David Tuma and Copperas Cove Newspaper Inc) to comply
with Rule 215 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure had failed, the plaintiff (Bill Thomas) was forced to ask the court to set a
hearing for his motion to compel.
The motion reads in part:
“As of the date of filing this motion LARRY HUAK has not provided any responses to the Requests for Production.”
“The failure of LARRY HAUK to comply with proper discovery requests has necessitated the filing of this Motion to Compel.
Therefore, pursuant to Rule 215 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, LARRY HAUK should be required to pay reasonable
attorney’s fee and expenses incurred in connection with this motion in the amount of $750.00.”
“Efforts to resolve these matters without court intervention were attempted as evidenced by the Certificate of Conference
included herein.”
In the court order signed by District Judge Phillip Zeigler setting the hearing the Judge states, “The above and foregoing
Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel having been presented and duly considered the Court is of the opinion that a hearing on the same is
necessary.”
The hearing is set for 1:15 PM on the 9th of December 2008.
Congressman Carter with a few friends
A NEW G.I. BILL FOR A NEW GENERATION OF VETS
By: Congressman John R. Carter
Ronald Reagan spoke to the country during a radio address on National Armed Forces Day in 1982 where he quoted
James Michener’s book, The Bridges at Toko-Ri. In it he writes, “of an officer waiting through the night for the return
of planes to a carrier as dawn is coming on. And he asks, ‘Where do we find such men?’ Well, we find them where we
always found them. They are the product of the freest society man has ever known. They make a commitment to the
military-make it freely, because the birthright we share as Americans is worth defending.”
Since the birth of this great nation, our military men and women have committed freely to defending the freedom and
security of our nation. I believe, as a country, we owe them every opportunity we can afford them. I recently co-
sponsored the bipartisan Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act which is designed to expand the educational
opportunities given to the brave soldiers who have served so honorably since the attacks of September 11, 2001.
This country has a tradition of offering educational assistance to our returning veterans since War World II. Under the
current G.I. Bill, military veterans are required to buy into the program in order to get their educational benefits. I
strongly believe these soldiers have already paid the price with their unrelenting courage and sacrifice. They have
earned the opportunity for a better education at a lower cost.
Not only does this bill increase benefits to soldiers that have served on active duty since 9/11, it also extends these
same benefits to activated reservists and the National Guard. The bill allows the benefits to be paid in amounts linked
to the amount of active duty served in the military after 9/11. Generally, veterans would receive some amount of
assistance proportionally to their service for 36 months, which equals four academic years. It is important to note that
veterans would still be eligible to receive any incentive-based supplemental education assistance from the military
branch for which they qualify.
In addition, benefits provided under the bill would allow veterans pursuing an approved program of education to
receive payments covering the established charges of their program, up to the cost of the most expensive in-state
public school, plus a monthly stipend for housing costs in their area, along with additional aid for tutorial assistance
as well as licensure and certification tests. This new initiative creates a new program where the government will
agree to match, dollar for dollar, any voluntary additional contributions to veterans from institutions where tuition is
more expensive. Under the new bill, veterans would have up to fifteen years, compared to ten years, after they leave
active duty to use their educational benefits.
Currently, veterans’ educational benefits are administered under the Montgomery G.I. Bill, a program designed
primarily for peacetime, not wartime, service. With many of our troops having served two, three or four tours of duty
in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is quite possible they would not have time to complete a degree before the ten year window
closes.
The G.I. Bill of the World War II era sparked economic growth and expansion for a whole generation of Americans. A
more robust G.I. Bill holds the same potential for today’s economy. Educated veterans have higher income levels,
which in the long run increases tax revenues. It is estimated that 7.8 million veterans used the benefits in some form,
out of a wartime veteran population of 15 million. Three former Presidents, a dozen U.S. Senators, three Supreme
Court Justices and 14 Nobel Prize winners went to school on the G.I. Bill. Under today’s G.I. Bill, these same leaders
would receive only a fraction of the money necessary to get the same level of education.
A strong and reliable G.I. Bill will have a positive effect on our military population. I am proud to co-sponsor this bill
and applaud Senator Webb and Representative Mitchell for introducing it in both houses of Congress. As the
representative for Fort Hood, the largest military base in the nation, I look forward to seeing this bill signed into law.
Anonymous Accusations From Faceless Cowards
Recently we have seen a surge of politically active blog sites in Cove. It is unfortunate that these sited designed for
self expression of the public often turn to homes for nut cases and heroes who like to attack from the cover of
darkness.
Blog names are used on blog sites. Unlike, a letter to the editor where even the Liberal-Press requires the writer to
identify himself, blogs allow the author to remain anonymous. Most people who post on blogs around the country
realize that there is a responsibility that comes when publishing their messages on a blog. Although you can be
anonymous you should have the common decency to maintain a civil and non-vulgar tongue in their heads. After all
it is common knowledge that the internet is open to all ages. It is almost comical that many of the local people claim
to be on the blog to help the community and use language they certainly would never use in church (or I hope not
anyway). One nameless nut actually quotes scripture in one sentence and uses profanity in the other. Certainly that
is his right in the land of the free. However, it is of course also my right to say he has no creditability and is a
hypocrite.
The plus of allowing abusive language on a political blog is that it is a practice that supports the foundation of the
First Amendment. Since I consider this to be the individual’s constitutional right I shall defend the practice. That
said, a wise man once said that, “Just because it’s your right doesn’t make it right.”
Besides the fact that it is simply bad form and shows a lack of intelligence to feel a need to resort to profanity, it has
a habit of bringing better people down to the level of the profane. Recently a man of impeccable character slipped
on the blog and after numerous vile
and profane personal attacks on his character JP’s Dad used a curse word once. Councilman Peterson of course is
a man and writes on the blog in his own name. It was immediately said by the potty mouth crew that Mark was no
better than them. The City Councilman used one word once in the heat of battle and stood like a man under his own
name and apologized for the slip. That hardly can be logically put in the same ball park as the guy who has difficulty
expressing himself without profanity and will not use his name with his words.
No one has ever accused me of profanity. While I am guilty of many faults (ask the Boss Lady for the list) that’s not
one of them. The incorrect assumption here is that I don’t use profanity due to religious beliefs. I am a Christian, but
that has little or nothing to do with my adversity for gutter language and trash talk. Frankly, I know of nothing quite
as pitiful as a grown person who needs profane crutches to express themselves. Since my teens I have always felt
vulgarity was out of place in a locker room, on the field, in a press box or for that matter in the barracks. Profanity is
for weaklings and being a weakling is hardly the mark of a man in my book.
A man I give a lot of credibility to criticized Mr. Peterson and me for accusing those
who do not use their real names of being cowards. I concur to a limited extent with this well meaning and honest
criticism. To accuse someone of being a coward because they chose to remain anonymous when posting their
opinions is wrong. While I would prefer a person give their words the credibility of their name I understand why
some people in public positions not do so. That said, I draw the line when a person hides behind a blog name to call
another person a liar, a fraud or a cheat. Sorry to attack a another man and hide in the dark is cowardice and there is
no way around it.
If a man calls another man a liar, he should have the courage to stand up and say so. He should also name the lie
and prove it was a lie. I called Larry Sheppard a liar. I called him a liar to his face and publicly. While there are those
who may argue that Larry had good reason to lie about resigning from office if the mayor was removed there is no
one who can argue that he kept his word.
I was accused on the blog of cheating on my property tax by one of these nameless cowards. I was foolish enough
to be goaded into stating that I would post a letter form the Travis County Appraisers Office that I had taken action to
see that the posting of a past Travis County exemption was removed from their web page. I have done so. If anyone
cares to see any of my and my wife’s personal financial records in the future they need to visit with the Boss Lady.
She was right to be offended and I could not answer the simple question, “Who wants to know?” Neither Coryell or
Travis Counties have a beef about my property tax on either house we own or any of the other properties. The beef
was about a homestead exemption we have recently transferred to Coryell County from Travis County. Travis was
still showing that we had a homestead exemption there. They nor Coryell County was suggesting that we had
actually taken a homestead exemption in both places but they had not removed the information from their web. Now
per my request they have removed the posting and do not show an exemption in Travis County which is correct.
Had I allowed both counties to give me a homestead exemption I would have under paid my total tax bill for 4
different properties in three counties by $88.86 a year. Sounds like someone petty enough to make a big deal out of
the exact procedure used to give a 63 cent an hour pay raise to our hard working City Secretary. Yup they did that
too. These jerks have got to get a life.
Bill Thomas
LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST LEADER-PRESS
The Story You May Never See on Paper
BY
Bill Thomas
Recently a dear friend of mine and a cornerstone of the Cove community and I were chatting prior to
the start of a local civic club meeting. “When is someone going to print the story about your suit
against the Leader-Press, Bill? I’ve never seen a word in the papers and frankly there are a lot of us
who consider it newsworthy.”
“I honestly don’t know.” I replied. “I have kept the Cove Herald in the loop all the way. They have
hard copy of my filing a complaint with the Texas Ethics Commission as well as the official results the
Commission’s findings six months later. They have the original petition showing the suit was filed and
the defendants served.”
The question posed by my friend is a question I have been asked daily for some months now. Of
course everyone knows why the Leader-Press has ignored the story. That was certainly expected by
the Cove community and to be fair understandable. The reasons why the KDH and their subsidiary the
Cove Herald is ignoring the story may be a bit more complicated. When a citizen of Copperas Cove
files a complaint against a local newspaper with the Texas Ethics Commission it is news. When that
complaint is the only one in the history of the state to be filed by a citizen against himself it is bigger
news. When the results of that hearing are in complete favor of the citizen and not the local paper it is
news. When that citizen files a law suit for over a half million dollars in District Court and has the
individual defendants served with citations it is news. When the citizen hires one of the most
prominent attorneys in Central Texas to handle the case it is news. I was told by the Cove Herald that
when I received an actual official ruling from the Ethics Commission they would publish the story.
That was changed when they received a hard copy of the ruling to, “When you actually file suit we’ll
publish a story.” The Cove Herald received a copy of the suit when it was filed Pro Se. They were also
informed that Dan Corbin was my attorney the day he was hired. There have been disclosures and
other documents exchanged between attorneys. Why the KDH has elected to continue to ignore the
story is curious but bluntly none of my business. I have theories dating back to the paper wars but
frankly unfounded theories is all they are.
As far as the Liberal-Press is concerned their reason for ignoring the issue is obvious. Here you are
dealing with basic wishful thinking. There are those in Cove that for some reason believe that things
like law suits simply evaporate if you don’t see any action on a daily basis. These folks would like to
stick their heads in the proverbial sand and hope for the best. Well I guess if you’ve done wrong and
someone sues you, the good news is you are going to have a lot of time before you are actually called
to account for your actions. Suits do take a lot of time. In the case of this particular libel suit it took
even more time than the norm. First of all the news paper article published in the Leader-Press led
folks to believe that I had violated the election code laws of the state of Texas. The article also
presumed to quote the election code law (incorrectly). I felt it was essential to my case to get a ruling
from the State Ethics Commission prior to preceding with the actual filing of the lawsuit. This took a
period of seven months. Partly because I didn’t follow correct administrative procedure in filing my
first complaint and had to re-file, but mostly because the Ethics Commission only meets every two
months and it simply takes a while to have your complaint heard. The law suit itself almost didn’t get
filed because of my assumption that like virtually all other areas of the law libel cases fell under a two
year statute of limitations in the state of Texas. I felt I was in no rush to hire a good attorney after I
received the ruling from the Ethics Commission. Thanks to a chat I had with Killeen attorney
extraordinaire Dan Corbin I was informed a couple of days prior to the statute running out that libel
lawsuits fell under a one not a two year statute. Per the direction of Mr. Corbin and after his staff
looked at the petition I filed a Pro Se lawsuit in district court. Pro Se simply means that the action is
taken by an individual by himself and without an attorney of record. It carries as much legal weight
but is frankly not the smartest way to sue someone. However, the Pro Se suit did its job and satisfied
the Texas statute of limitations for libel. Shortly after the filing and the defendants, Larry Hauk, Paul
Gately, David Tumma and The Leader-Press being served with their citations I hired Mr. Corbin and he
has proceeded as my attorney of record in the case. To date we have had a couple of exchanges of
disclosure information and a thing called an “Admit or Deny” list of declarations.
As for when we will actually go to court, I can’t really say. It is of course public and very published
knowledge that Mr. Corbin is also representing me on the matter of Roger O’Dwyer’s violations of the
city charter. We will hit high gear in my suit against the Leader-Press as soon as the first matter is
disposed of. Its funny that at the tender age of 62 I have hired an attorney to take legal action against
someone twice in my life and both have been in the last year.
Will the story ever be printed on the paper newspapers in town? I don’t know. It certainly will not
effect the out come of the suit. The one thing that you can take to the bank is that I will have my day in
court. When a newspaper unfairly and knowingly publishes false accusations that tend to question
my character I have no choice but to fight back.
Bill Thomas
CARTER SECURES FUNDING FOR DEFENSE PROJECTS
Funding Will Benefit Fort Hood, Texas A&M System, University of Texas, City of Austin
WASHINGTON, D.C. -Representative John Carter (TX-31), a member of the House Appropriations
Committee, announced that funding has been included in the 2008 Department of Defense (DoD)
Appropriations bill for a number of projects that will benefit the 31st District. The bill is scheduled to
be voted on next week.
"I remain committed to providing our military with the tools and resources they need to successfully
serve and protect America," Congressman Carter said. "I am pleased to have secured funding for
critical projects that enhance our nation's defense. By funding operation and maintenance, as well as
research and development projects, we can ensure that our military remains the best and strongest in
the world."
Congressman Carter worked to secure funding for the following projects that benefit Central Texas:
· $3 million for Fort Hood Training Lands Restoration. This funding will be used to rehabilitate
training lands on Fort Hood through a program that reduces soil erosion and compaction, increases
vegetation, fills gullies, constructs sediment traps, and provides appropriate stream-crossing and
hilltop access points for vehicles. In addition, this program will verify the effectiveness of training land
rehabilitation efforts.
· $2 million for High Optemo Performance Soldier Training to University of Texas. This funding will
be used for critical research of soldiers in conditions of stress and fatigue in order to create
recommendations that will result in improved soldier performance and their ability to survive in high
stress situations.
· $1 million to Fort Hood, the University of Texas, and Texas A&M for digitization support. This
program has provided high-end technical support for the problems encountered during the
transformation of the Army's digitization program.
Congressman Carter has secured funds for this program in previous years.
· $3 million to Applied Physical Electronics in Austin for funding to be used for continued
development of the Electro-Magnetic Flak Impulse System to mitigate terrorist activities and will
specifically be used to hire an additional 15 highly skilled professional engineers and supporting staff
· $10 million to the Department of Defense's Neurofibromatosis Research Program that will benefit
nearly 175 million Americans who suffer from related disorders such as cancer, heart disease, learning
disabilities, memory loss and brain tumors.
Carter also was successful in inserting critical language to the bill that would encourage the Army to
explore Continuously Variable Planetary (CVP) Design for Commonality Across Platforms and
Applications technology which is designed to greatly reduce ware and tear on vehicle transmissions.
Other highlights of the bill include.
· 3.5 percent military pay raise
· Additional $1.25 billion for Army facilities sustainment and restoration.
· $2.9 billion for military's family advocacy programs such as counseling, education and support to
military families affected by the demands of war.
· Provides funds for an additional 7,000 Army soldiers, 1,300 Army National Guard and 5,000
Marines.
· Allocates an additional $30 million for Impact Aid.
VIEW FROM THE HILL
Congressional Report from Capitol Hill
On the Hill In the District In the War Zone
Fort Hood's Man on the Hill, Congressman John Carter is all about serving those who serve.
Editor's Comment: It is a knee jerk reaction today for a politician to symbolically wave the flag and claim that they,
"Support our Troops." It is a poor testament for America that many of these people undermine the efforts of the men
and women in uniform by attacking their Commander and Chief as well as the credibility of their mission. It is at this
point the the skin of an old Vietnam jungle fighter begins to carwl. The obvious purpose for this blatant hypocrisy is
to serve their personal or party political agenda. The fact that an attack on the military leader and mission is an attack
on the troops is of no importance to these patriot pretenders. Putting our brave men and women deeper in harm's
way by attacking a vital part of their unit is apparently acceptable if it garners personal political power. In the Nam the
guys in the bush had a saying, "I hear ya talk the talk, but can ya walk the walk." As for actually supporting America's
troops, if you care to see a real American walk the walk watch John Carter at work.
Carter Votes for Increased Veterans' Services
Washington, DC - Congressman John Carter (R, Round Rock), House Republican Conference Secretary, yesterday
voted for three pieces of legislation aimed at providing increased services for America's veterans, including a suicide
prevention program, less stringent requirements for vision benefits, and increased compensation to disabled
veterans. All three bills passed the House.
"Our veterans deserve the best care we can give them, especially those who have suffered a casualty in combat," said
Congressman Carter. "The heroes who have put their lives at risk defending or country should certainly have access
to such basic services as vision benefits and mental health assistance. These bills will offer greater accessibility for
our veterans to get the treatment and support they need."
H.R. 327, the Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act, develops and implements a comprehensive program
designed to reduce the number of suicides among veterans. Over the course of combat operations in Afghanistan
and Iraq, there has been a growing concern with the number of suicides that have occurred in soldier and veteran
population of these operations. For calendar year 2005, the suicide rate for Iraqi veterans was 19.9 per 100,000
soldiers, considerably higher than the national average, and the Army's overall reported rate of 13.1 per 100,000.
H.R. 797 improves compensation benefits for veterans in certain cases of impairment of vision involving both eyes,
and for other purposes. The bill lowers the requirement for receiving disability compensation through the Department
of Veterans Affairs (VA) for veterans with eye impairments as a result of service-connected or non-service-connected
disability. VA currently requires that a veteran be legally blind in order to receive disability. This move will bring VA in
line with other Federal agencies, such as Medicare and Social Security, which do not maintain this strict standard.
H .R. 1284, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2007, increases some types of payments to
disabled veterans, their families, and their dependants to account for increases in the cost of living. Payments eligible
for the increase include wartime disability compensation, compensation to surviving spouses and children of
veterans who die of service-connected causes, additional compensation for dependants and clothing allowances.
Congress has provided annual increases in the payments to disabled veterans and their families for every fiscal year
since 1976. The veterans' disability compensation program is designed to provide compensation for the loss in
financial support that veterans, their families, and dependants suffer as result of disabilities incurred or aggravated by
military service.
MY BAND OF BROTHERS
Here's to my brothers who paid the ultimate price.
Here's to those who survived.
We were few then and we are even fewer now.
We are no longer young warriors.
Never again will we jump from airplanes screaming "Airborne"
Never again will we challenge America's enemy face to face.
Yes, gone is the heat of battle and our youth
We are old soldiers now, my brothers
Yet while our bodies have grown old our hearts have not
We feel the pain from old wounds as we stand to salute our flag.
As our body feels the pain, our hearts feel the pride.
An old soldier's eye still gets misty when they play the anthem
The words "home of the brave" bring back faces of fallen brothers
Yes, we are old men now, long past our days of glory.
But let there be no doubt that we had our day in the sun.
We served, we lived, and we shall die as American warriors.
By Bill Thomas
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