SocraticGadfly: #RickPerry - tech slush fund getting more exposure

June 16, 2011

#RickPerry - tech slush fund getting more exposure

Yeah, Rick Perry, please run for president. Your religious hypocrisy and your bible ignorance/political mangling have both already been exposed.

Now, there's more about your technology fund really being a business contributors' slush fund
The founders of Convergen Life Sciences Inc., including a political contributor to Gov. Rick Perry, had invested only $1,000 of their own money into the company when they asked for $4.5 million from a Texas technology fund, (the Austin American-Statesman) reports. ...

The Dallas Morning News first reported in the fall the fund's grant to Convergen despite its rejection by a regional review board. The statewide advisory board recommended in 2010 giving the company the grant despite the previous rejection.

In April, State Auditor John Keel said Perry needed to do a better job of monitoring investments in the fund and should make the grant process more open. In response, the Legislature passed a bill requiring more transparency and putting four lawmakers on the fund's 17-member advisory board.
That's right, the GOP-dominated legislature, members of Perry's own party, don't even trust him on this issue.

Meanwhile, there's more not to trust. Is Convergen just a shell company?
The company's application listed three members of its board of directors, including Nance. The other two told the newspaper on Wednesday they had never served on the board.
More substantiation of the "shell company" idea:
Convergen's 2009 application does not mention the bankruptcy of Introgen Therapeutics Inc., where Nance was a founder and CEO. Introgen failed in 2008 after the Food and Drug Administration denied its application to market a cancer therapy based on Roth's research.
Hmmm ...

That's all as Perry, gallivanting about the country while "thinking about" running for president, has more than 1,000 bills from the regular session of the Lege awaiting his action.

Oh, have some fun and crash the poll about Perry on the homepage of this newspaper.
Do you think Gov. Rick Perry should try a run for president of the United States?
Yes, he'd make a great president and could turn this country around.
No, he's more valuable guiding Texas the next three years.
No, Perry has been bad for the state and he'd be worse for the nation.
Need I say more?

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