The Texas Web

  THE TEXAS WEB

Spidey hasn't had much time to blog and has been busy with many other projects, and has also spent a lot of time reading other blogs, written by some awesome two-legged writers. Your little web crawler decided to spend some time in a warmer clime this winter and took a spin to the Big D in the heart of Texas.

I got down here to this big ole' state and thought how wonderful it was to be in God's country - a place where you can raise dogs and cats; pasture your livestock and keep all kinds of animals.

My oh my, - no sooner was I there, than I ran smack into the biggest, stickiest, black web you've ever seen. I can see I won't be able to rest until I tell you guys all about this mess. I don't know what I expected, but this sure wasn't it.

They say everything's bigger in Texas, and sad to say, I guess that includes the people who want to control everyone and make gobs of money doing it. Something stinks real bad in the state. I guess that is what happens When Vultures Rule. We'll also be looking at some of the rascally polecats (no offense to four legged polecats) that continually stick their noses into the business of honest animal owners.

I'm not even sure where to begin, but y'all know HSUS by now, don't you? They usually head up a grassroots network of "federated" humane societies and rescues." In Texas, it's called the Texas Federation of Animal Care Societies. [Texas Tax I.D. 30002745534. Based out of Austin]

One of the BOD members is Stan Parker of the Big Spring Police Department. He supervises the animal control department there. He also owns a small business and is now Sheriff of Howard County. He had a drinking problem a while back and was arrested for DWI. He lost his job with the police department but told the press he hasn't drank a drop since then, and has turned his life around. I'll have to tell you more about the other directors and board members later on as I try to find my way through this enormous web.

The head honcho in control of this posse; however, is the Texas Humane Legislation Network (THLN) based in Dallas. [TX Corporation No. 62419801). Robert L. "Skip" Trimble is the registered agent, and as I soon discovered, is so much more than that. More about their web of directors in another post.

This man wears a mighty big ten gallon hat, in fact, he has quite a few of them as we shall see. He's a long time licensed attorney; once worked for the U.S. Department of Justice; he's been Chairman of the Animal Shelter Commission, has been treasurer of the Metroplex Animal Coalition and is a member of the Texas State Bar Animal Laws (ALS) division and, well, the entire Texas animal control shebang!

He does pro bono legal work for animal groups and helps them obtain tax exempt status. He is an active lobbyist and all round stirrer upper. But his most interesting connection is with the California based Animal Legal Defense Fund.

You know who the ALDF is, don't you? They are the organization that created the Animal Abuse Registry Database Administration System, or AARDAS, better known as Pet-Abuse.com. Here's a direct quote from the website, "The main function of the AARDAS project is to enable delegated administrators to enter, edit, and update animal abuse crimes and their corresponding abusers in the hopes of compiling the most comprehensive searchable abuse database available."

Trimble also owns a REIT - a real estate investment trust. This is a corporation that invests in real estate and that pays little or no corporate income taxes. REIT's are required to distribute 90% of their income, which may be taxable, into the hands of investors. His is called Catlyn Capital Corp.

Trimble is a supporter of the Humane USA PAC. He donates $5,000 to them regularly - at least twice a year that we know of. His wife, Mary Mitchell Trimble, makes duplicate donations to them for the same amount. Not surprising when you consider his active involvement and contact with a ****load of animal related organizations. The overpowering smell is so bad down here that my eyes are burning and I can scarcely breathe. It's the worst I've ever seen.

Yep, he is smack dab in the middle of the Texas barrel of AR alphabet soup.

I'll be back with another heaping bowl of news next time.

The Eyes of Texas are Upon You