Catherine and Locks of Love

This is my youngest daughter this weekend giving up her hair for locks of love.

Headlines

Worst employees of the year - CNN.com

Houston leaders target more billboards Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Johnny Depp: 'I don't want to be a product' - CNN.com

Commentary: Black men must reclaim our children - CNN.com

CNN Poll: Obama catches Clinton in New Hampshire - CNN.com

FOXNews.com - Want to Get to Heaven? Gag-Gift Web Site Sells 'Reservations,' but Not Without Offending Some

ESPN - Petrino couldn't help but hit the road yet again - NFL

ESPN - Petrino's been down this road before … and likely will again - Columnist

Petrino leaves Falcons to coach at Arkansas | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

FOXNews.com - 50 Fleeing Taliban Fighters Killed After Afghan Fight - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News

FOXNews.com - Boys, 11 and 14, Charged With Sex Assault on Woman, 60

My Weekend spending spree......

Well the weekend was going along nicely until about oh 11am yesterday when I realized that the AC unit out side was running but we had no air circulation. So out comes the phone book and a quick call to an AC company... Well I got two sorry but we will not be able to come out till tomorrows and finally broke down and called ARS. They had someone out at about 4PM and I found out some very interesting things. 1) My AC unit no longer had a warranty, because the maker went bankrupt about 2 years after I bought the house. 2) the controller board was burned out and it was going to cost $600 to replace.

Neither of these options was what I wanted to hear less than a month from both Christmas and Tax Payment time. But here I was, as ever home owner knows these things do not allow you to chose when they fail, you can only hope that you are lucky enough to catch them before they fail.

New Community Debt after Election

Well we have had our day at the polls and for the most part the sheeple have spoken... Below is a list of every bond proposal that was on a ballot in the greater Houston area that passed.

State Level
PROPOSITION 2 Allows the issuing of $500 million in general obligation bonds
PROPOSITION 4 $1 billion in bonds
PROPOSITION 15 authorizes issuance of up to $3 billion in bonds
PROPOSITION 16 general obligation bonds $250 million

Harris County
Bond Prop. 1 ($190 million, roads)
Bond Prop. 2 ($95 million, parks)
Bond Prop. 4 ($80 million, forensic center)
Bond Prop. 5 ($70 million, family law center)
Bond Prop. 6 ($250 million, Port of Houston)

Houston
Bond Prop. 1 ($36.85 million: streets, sidewalks, drainage)
Bond Prop. 2 ($22.995 million: public safety, emergency medical service, police, fire
buildings)
Bond Prop. 3 ($10.94 million: parks and rec facilities, aquatics facilities, and beautification)
Bond Prop. 4 ($7.17 million for East Baker Road extension)
Bond Prop. 5 ($2.525 million for Texas Avenue area improvements)
Bond Prop. 6 ($2.02 million for drainage improvements)

Houston ISD
Bond issue ($805 million)

Seabrook
Bond issue ($2.5 million for park)

Southside Place
Bond Prop. 1 ($4.5 million city hall)
Bond Prop. 2 ($1.3 million for Park Assn. clubhouse)

Spring Branch ISD
Bond issue ($597 million to rebuild 12 elementary schools)

Cypress-Fairbanks ISD
Bond issue ($806.8 million)

Brazoria County

Angleton ISD
Bond Prop. 1 ($98.6 million for land)
Bond Prop. 2 ($40.15 million for new football stadium and field house)
Bond Prop. 3 ($1.59 million for renovations, improvements)

Brazosport College
Bond issue ($70 million: classrooms,facilities)

Columbia-Brazoria ISD
Bond Prop. 1 ($12.8 million for renovations at Wild Peach Elem.)
Bond Prop. 2 ($3 million for renovations at Columbia High School)

Fort Bend
Fort Bend ISD
Bond issue ($428 million)

Chambers
CountyMont Belvieu
Bond issue ($11 million, roads, sewer, water)

East Chambers ISD
Bond Prop. 1 ($6 million for renovations, new classrooms)
Bond Prop. 2 ($3.5 million to build a new gym to replace existing unairconditioned facility)

Galveston County
Dickinson ISD
Bond issue ($107.5 million)
Friendswood ISD
Bond Prop. 1 ($91.1 million for a new junior high school campus, other campus upgrades)
Bond Prop. 2 ($1.8 million for football stadium upgrades, including the addition of 3,000 seats) Bond Prop. 3 ($6.5 million for a swimming facility)

Texas City ISD
Bond Prop. 1 ($109.7 million for new Texas City High School, Levi Fry Middle School and Kohfeldt Elementary; other improvements)
Bond Prop. 2 ($4.75 million technology improvements)
Bond Prop. 3 ($4.25 million for football stadium renovations, other athletic facilities)
Bond Prop. 4 ($3.8 million for renovation to the technology education support center and maintenance storage and shops)

Liberty County
Dayton
Prop. 1 ($11.9 million for library, community center, street improvements)
Prop. 2 ($795,000 for street, drainage improvements on Lover's Lane and South Cleveland)
Prop. 3 ($1.2 million for utility improvements at Lover's Lane and South Cleveland)

The Grand total of the bonds that were approved is $8,752,535,000.00, Yes that is eight BILLION Dollars. Now take that out over 30 years and with an interest rate of 5.25% and you are looking at nearly 22 Billion when all interest is included. The sad thing is the state just certified a budget with an 8 Million dollar surplus, and here we are looking at payments in the area of 750 Million a year on this obligation alone....

I know the answer to this, but do these people realize that this money will be coming out of their paychecks and mortgage payments in the form of property and sales taxes...

Board Break a thon Video

Board Break a thon announcement

I have been studying Tae Kwon Do for a little over 1 year now and our academy's booster club has an annual community event. It is a board break-a-thon, and all of the proceeds go to the Katy ISD D.A.R.E program. Last year we raised over $4500 as a group for the program and we want to do even better this year. It is a good program and a lot of fun for all of those that participate. As an added bonus I'll provide photos of myself or my kids breaking the boards that are purchased by readers here. I'll even make sure your name is on the board. Please help support D.A.R.E. You can contact me through here or the e-mail on the flyer.

I hope to raise at least $300 for this cause.

Second Annual Board Break-A-Thon

· Saturday October 27th 3:00-5:00

· Hosted by the C3 Booster Club

· Help the Community by raising money for Katy Area D.A.R.E Programs

· Location: Allen Samuels Dodge on Katy Freeway

See the flyer for more details
Board break a thon flyer

Happy Birthday to Me

Well today is a special day, actually it is a uniquely special day. Today is my 40th birthday, and instead of sitting here and ranting about any of these topics:

Social Injustice
Racism
Political Stupidity
Corporate greed
Social insaninty
Houston Sports failures
Michigan Football failures
Drugs in sports
Darwin Award winners

I am going to take the day and enjoy it.

Rockets Roster setting up nicely for season

Ok we have all been busy waiting for football season to start, however I realized that we have been neglecting to talk about the one team in Houston that actually could be the best of the bunch.Yes I am talking about the Houston Rockets and what with the current trades and other injuries that have occured in the past month, the Rockets are looking more like a contender than ever before. They have quality depth, and a good mix of youth and veterans to really succeed in the Western Conference. Why do I say that well let's look at the roster as it stands right now

Potential Starters
7 Mike James PG 6-2 195
1 Tracy McGrady GF 6-8 223
4 Luis Scola F 6-9 230
31 Shane Battier SF 6-8 220
11 Yao Ming C 7-6 310

First 4 off Bench
44 Chuck Hayes F 6-6 238
6 Bonzi Wells SG 6-5 210
3 Steve Francis PG 6-3 195
45 Jackie Butler FC 6-10 260

Final 3 active roster spots
0 Aaron Brooks G 6-0 160
13 Kirk Snyder SG 6-6 225
2 Luther Head G 6-3 185


3 potential for inactive list
20 Steve Novak F 6-10 220
9 Justin Reed SF 6-8 238
14 Carl Landry F 6-7 245

Trade Bait
15 John Lucas PG 5-11 165
12 Rafer Alston PG 6-2 175
3 Bob Sura G 6-5 200

D- League possible
21 Brad Newley G 6-7 201
29 Mike Harris F 6-6 240

Now the final 6 may change depending upon what sort of health issues occur but this team is sitting pretty right now what with plenty of depth at guard and maybe more depth if Mutombo comes back for one more year.

Can they get anything for Sura, Alston, or Lucas, maybe you never know. But at least the season is starting with some optimism

Houston Texans Preview - Part 2 Defense

It is time to take the next step in examining the 2007 Houston Texans. This time around I will be looking at the defense, starting with the defensive line. The roster currently shows the following players for the Texans at DL.

93 Jason Babin DE 27 6-2 259 4 Western Michigan
60 Earl Cochran DE 26 6-5 284 1 Alabama State
94 N.D. Kalu DE 32 6-3 265 11 Rice
97 Alfred Malone DE 25 6-5 308 3 Troy
92 Anthony Weaver DE 27 6-3 280 6 Notre Dame
90 Mario Williams DE 22 6-7 291 2 North Carolina State
79 Tim Bulman DT 24 6-3 300 3 Boston College
96 Thomas Johnson DT 26 6-2 298 3 Middle Tennessee State
99 Travis Johnson DT 25 6-3 305 3 Florida State
78 Cedric Killings DT 29 6-2 310 5 Carson-Newman
95 Anthony Maddox DT 28 6-1 305 3 Delta State
- Amobi Okoye DT 20 6-2 287 R Louisville
- Thomas Smith DT 24 6-3 300 R Pittsburgh
90 Jeff Zgonina DT 37 6-2 290 15 Purdue

The team will rotate probably 6 or 8 players in the line over the course of any game. Weaver, Williams, Okoye, Maddox look to be the starters with the Johnsons, Malone, Kalu as the next wave, and Babin and Zgonina as the final pair in the ten that may make this team. This unit is under the microscope what with four first round picks and two that are top ten picks at that. They need to be able to put pressure on the quarterback without any blitzing LB's or DB's and at the same time be able to keep the linebackers free and clear so that they can play the run better.

The linebackers this year look as solid and deep as they have since the first year that the team was in existance.

50 Charlie Anderson LB 25 6-4 243 4 Mississippi
56 Shawn Barber LB 32 6-2 240 10 Richmond
94 Marcus Bell LB 30 6-1 245 4 Arizona
51 Trent Bray LB 24 6-1 237 1 Oregon State
54 Danny Clark LB 30 6-2 245 8 Illinois
- Zach Diles LB 22 6-0 240 R Kansas State
56 Morlon Greenwood LB 29 6-0 238 7 Syracuse
53 Shantee Orr LB 26 6-0 250 5 Michigan
59 DeMeco Ryans LB 23 6-2 235 2 Alabama
59 Zac Woodfin LB 24 6-1 235 1 UAB

The starting trio of Anderson, Ryans and Greenwood, could be as good as most other LB lineups in the league, and I really think that after this season if they continue to produce as they are capable of doing you will be hearing them listed as one of the top five LB corps in the league. Ryans is without a doubt the leader of this group and he leads by example both on and off the field. He is one of the hardest workers and spends more time in the film room than most of the rest of the team. The team will probably keep 4 or 5 more LB's some of which will be primarily for special teams, that being said the 5 I see as staying around are Orr, Clark, Barber, Bell, Diles, and maybe Woodfin, on the practice squad.

Defensive Back is where we could have some change when it comes to who is playing as well as who is on the team.

22 Roc Alexander CB 25 5-10 190 4 Washington
- Fred Bennett CB 23 6-1 199 R South Carolina
38 DeMarcus Faggins CB 28 5-10 178 6 Kansas State
21 Jamar Fletcher CB 27 5-10 186 7 Wisconsin
26 Jason Horton CB 27 6-0 190 4 North Carolina A&T
34 Von Hutchins CB 26 5-9 181 4 Mississippi
20 Dexter McCleon CB 33 5-10 195 10 Clemson
28 Chris McKenzie CB 25 5-8 182 2 Arizona State
23 Dunta Robinson CB 25 5-10 174 4 South Carolina
40 John Walker CB 24 6-1 200 1 USC
25 Dexter Wynn CB 26 5-9 177 4 Colorado State
24 C.C. Brown S 24 6-0 208 3 Louisiana-Lafayette
26 Glenn Earl S 26 6-1 215 4 Notre Dame
- Brandon Harrison S 22 6-2 210 R Stanford
30 Jason Simmons S 31 5-9 199 10 Arizona State

There is plenty of competition this year in the defensive backfield and the only position that is a lock is Dunta Robinson's. There will be competion for all of the other 3 starting spots as well as for the backups, that and there will be a couple of spots for those playing special teams, including punt and kick returner. Roc Alexander is out for the season so that will give someone else some more reps and the chance to make an impression.

Pre Season Look at Houston Texans - Part 1 - Offense

Today instead of sitting around waiting for the Astros to not make a trade that will help them in the future, I have embarked upon a journey of examination. Where I will look at the Houston Texans roster position by position, starting with the offensive side of the ball. If you sit down and take a look at the Texans depth chart on ESPN.com or even the one on NFL.com you can see that the roster has has some serious turnover in the past two season and will be quite different this year as well. That being said it is time to dig a little deeper and see what we can find, starting with the receivers.

The depth chart and roster looks a like this with starters in boldand third and fourth WR italic:

19 Charlie Adams WR 27 6-2 190 5 Hofstra
14 David Anderson WR 24 5-10 193 2 Colorado State
18 Andre Davis WR 28 6-1 195 6 Virginia Tech
80 Andre Johnson WR 26 6-3 219 5 Miami (FL)
81 Bethel Johnson WR 28 5-11 200 5 Texas A&M
- Jacoby Jones WR 23 6-4 210 R Lane
13 Jerome Mathis WR 24 5-11 172 3 Hampton
87 Keenan McCardell WR 37 6-1 191 16 UNLV
85 Kevin Walter WR 25 6-3 214 5 Eastern Michigan
86 Harry Williams WR 24 6-2 186 1 Tuskegee

Assuming that Jacoby Jones makes the roster then you are looking at a contest between Adams, Anderson, Bethel Johnson, Jerome Mathis, and Harry Williams for the final spot on the team. I give the advantage to Bethel Johnson with Charlie Anderson and Jerome Mathis as the next two on the list. Now if Mathis shows that he can stay healthy and also shows that he can run routes as a viable extra receiver then he moves to the front of this list because of his ability on kickoff returns, otherwise he may be gone. But no matter how you look at it there is some talent behind Andre Johnson, and the competition between those in the #2 to #7 spot will only make everyone better.

Now as far as the tight ends go:
87 Mark Bruener TE 34 6-4 258 13 Washington
81 Owen Daniels TE 24 6-3 247 2 Wisconsin
83 Joel Dreessen TE 25 6-4 260 3 Colorado State
88 Jeb Putzier TE 28 6-4 256 6 Boise State
82 Ben Steele TE 29 6-5 260 3 Mesa State

Owen Daniels is the starter and showed during the first half of the season that he can be an effective target over the middle as well as a reasonable pass blocker, Mark Bruener provides the team with the extra tackle like tight end, and Putzier provides excellent depth as well as another good pass catcher. We look solid at this position, granted we do not have a superstar here but some of the best teams have consistent play from this position, there are very few that stay in the same category as Tony Gonzales, or Todd Heap.

Running Back, the position that has caused the second most trouble as far as having a healthy body that can provide a consistent running attack:
43 Jameel Cook RB 28 5-10 237 7 Illinois
36 Ron Dayne RB 29 5-10 245 8 Wisconsin
35 Samkon Gado RB 24 5-11 226 3 Liberty
30 Ahman Green RB 30 6-0 218 10 Nebraska
44 Vonta Leach RB 25 6-0 250 4 East Carolina
33 Wali Lundy RB 23 5-10 214 2 Virginia
27 Chris Taylor RB 23 5-11 220 1 Indiana
Patrick Pass

With the signing of Ahman Green, and Ron Dayne healthy we have two veteran RB's who can still contribute. Vonta Leach is a very good fullback and excellent lead blocker, that several teams tried to sign away from the Texans in the off season. Chris Taylor who showed some promise at the end of last season is out for the year with a knee injury, so the final two spots will probably go to Wali Lundy, and Patrick Pass who was just signed. Pass can play both halfback and fullback, and brings the experience of three Super Bowls from New England.

Quarterback is an easy one to talk about:
5 Quinton Porter QB 24 6-5 233 1 Boston College
18 Sage Rosenfels QB 29 6-4 225 7 Iowa State
8 Matt Schaub QB 26 6-5 237 4 Virginia
10 Bradlee Van Pelt QB 27 6-2 220 3 Colorado State

Schaub is the starter and right now I would bet that Atlanta would surrender about five times what we gave them to get him back. That being said Rosenfels is a very capable backup, and the third spot will probably go to Van Pelt because he knows the system.

Now to the the biggest question mark on this team, the offensive line.
58 Mike Flanagan C 33 6-5 301 12 UCLA
55 Drew Hodgdon C 25 6-3 309 3 Arizona State
76 Steve McKinney C 31 6-4 302 10 Texas A&M
48 Bryan Pittman C 30 6-3 270 5 Washington
68 Chris White C 24 6-2 285 3 Southern Miss
71 Kevin Barry OT 28 6-4 332 5 Arizona
65 Jordan Black OT 27 6-5 310 5 Notre Dame
- Brandon Frye OT 24 6-4 300 R Virginia Tech
74 Ephraim Salaam OT 31 6-7 300 10 San Diego State
77 Charles Spencer OT 25 6-5 351 1 Pittsburgh
73 Eric Winston OT 23 6-6 311 2 Miami (FL)
71 Atlas Herrion OG 26 6-4 305 1 Alabama
62 Scott Jackson OG 27 6-4 300 3 Brigham Young
69 Chester Pitts OG 28 6-3 320 6 San Diego State
- Kasey Studdard OG 23 6-3 310 R Texas
70 Fred Weary OG 29 6-4 308 6 Tennessee
72 Zach Wiegert OG 34 6-5 309 13 Nebraska

The starting five at this time is Flanagan at center, Pitts and Weary at guard, Salaam and Winston at tackle, with McKinney and Weigert and Jordan Black as the first three off the bench. The one thing that Coach Kubiak wants out of his linemen on both sides of the ball, is for them to be able to change positions, that is why McKinney, Black and Weigert get the nod at this time because they are versatile. The wild cards in this discussion are Charles Spencer, who is recovering from an injury, Brandon Frye, and Kasey Studdard who are rookies and possibly candidates for the practice squad, as well as Bryan Pittman the long snapper and Drew Hodgodon who is learning to play guard. This line is not full of superstars but they are getting younger and more talented. There is finally some competition for spots, which means players cannot just sit back and expect to be starters.

So in conclusion with the exception of Schaub, Andre Johnson, and Ahman Green, expect to see plenty of competition for both roster spots as well as playing time once the season starts. The offense will be better this year, if only in the fact that they will be more consistent with another year under Kubiak's leadership, as well as getting some more veteran play makers on the field. If things go well we will see some nice numbers put up by this unit.

What do you all think....

Commentary: Pro athletes must leave their pasts behind

Commentary: Pro athletes must leave their pasts behind - CNN.com

It is so nice to see these sorts of commentaries regarding the bad behavior of professional athletes. It is even nicer to see these comments coming from someone who is the same race as the majority of the offenders. Roland Martin is a radio talk show host in Chicago so he has seen and followed one of the worst offenders as his career has gone from talented young player to convicted felon, and that is Tank Johnson. Now granted Johnson is only the tip of the iceberg but as Martin points out so well, he is exactly what is wrong with society today. Look at what he says

Casual observers are quick to suggest that these are nothing more than spoiled, rich athletes who revel in the bad-boy side. What they don't understand is most of them were either bad boys growing up, or they now choose to associate themselves with bad boys who don't care about their big contracts and grown-up responsibilities. Their only focus is to party like a rock star.

It would be wrong to suggest that grown men can't make their own decisions, but the fact is the company you keep plays a role in keeping your business private, or seeing it spread on the front page.

He is right on target with these comments, and he also shows that if a one of these young men wants to change they can, but it will require hard and usually uncomfortable choices of who they associate with.

Denver Nuggets guard Allen Iverson can preach on this subject for days.
When he was in his first couple of years in the league, Iverson was running hard with his "crew," a collection of guys who he grew up with. He told reporters that they often discussed taking care of each other, so when he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, they traveled with him to the City of Brotherly Love.
But instead of truly loving him like a brother and protecting his back, they made his life even more difficult. The team, and subsequently the NBA, got tired of the arrests and police interrogations, and told Iverson to cut his ties with his past or lose the gravy train he was riding on.
He got the message and changed.

Yes Iverson still has his tattoo but I have no problem with that. They are a personal decision on what to do to your body, that each individual has control over. What your "posse" does while living off your hard work and talent is another thing. Again it comes down to hard choices between your past and your future.

That's really what the problem is for guys like Vick, Jones and so many others. Many grew up poor, and it was their athletic talent that kept them from falling victim to the streets.
See, the money is irrelevant here. What they are most afraid of is losing the support system -- no matter how detrimental -- and then being branded a traitor for turning their back on the guys who were there when they had nothing.
You don't have to admit it, but that's a serious guilt trip that can eat some folks alive.

Everyone is tired of their acts. Now it's time for them to decide whether saying no to their "friends" is worth losing everything they worked so hard to get.

Martin is correct and if more people learn from what Adam "pacman" Jones, and Tank Johnson have done in continuing to pollute their lives, then can learn even more from what Iverson has done to clean up his life.

U.S. Military: 'Islamic State of Iraq' Fronted by Imaginary Leader

U.S. Military: 'Islamic State of Iraq' Fronted by Imaginary Leader

The Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella terror group affiliated with Al Qaeda in Iraq, is led by a fictional character designed to mask that group's foreign influence, a captured terror leader has revealed to U.S. interrogators.
In an effort to give Al Qaeda an Iraqi face, terrorists created "a virtual organization in cyberspace," U.S. military spokesman Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner said.
In Web postings, the Islamic State of Iraq has identified its leader as Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, a name indicating Iraqi origin. There are no known photos of al-Baghdadi. The Egyptian Abu Ayyub al-Masri, who is the known leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, is named as minister of war in the umbrella organization.

Why does this not come as a shock. I mean these people are all about lies and misinformation, so it only goes to show what they will stoop to do in order to get their way. As more comes out about these people I have begun to wonder if they are not taking their ideas right from the Liberal "how to get what you want" playbook. I mean they have been using an actor to portray the leader of a FAKE pseudo government, with the intent of recruiting people to murder in the name of Islamic Purity, (does that ring a bell to any of you history buffs out there)?

To make their fictional leader appear credible, al-Masri swore allegiance to al-Baghdadi and pledged to obey him, which was essentially swearing allegiance to himself, Bergner said.
Al-Zawahiri also repeatedly referred to al-Baghdadi in video and Internet statements, further deceiving Iraqi followers and perpetuating the myth of al-Baghdadi.

OK so this guy swears to follow and obey his own fictional character in order to fool the Iraqi people, That is like you swearing to obey your invisible friend George, the elevator apparently does not reach the top floors.

Although Al Qaeda in Iraq's rank-and-file are mostly Iraqis, the Iraqi group's top leadership is dominated by foreigners, Bergner said. That includes al-Masri, who joined an Al Qaeda forerunner in Egypt in the 1980s and later helped train fighters who drove the Soviet army from Afghanistan.

Under interrogation, Al-Mashadani said Al-Masri and the foreign leaders who surround him make the operational decisions, not Iraqis.
"Al-Masri started overpowering us and acted on his own accord, by controlling the distribution of funding," Al-Mashadani is quoted as saying.
"The idea of al-Baghdadi is very weak now because other insurgent groups have realized that the concept of al-Baghdadi is controlled by the Al Qaeda foreign fighters in Iraq."

OK, so we have a bunch of foreigners who hate the US in Iraq and other Arab countries trying to tell the people of Iraq what to do while we are over there trying to protect the citizens who want to govern themselves as best as they can. Now tell me we need to pull our military out, I personally think we need to send more over and just clean things up even faster. We also need to put Iran and Syria on notice that we will not play nice if we get solid evidence that they are assisting these groups. But then if I were President this would have never gotten this messed up in the first place.

Top ten College Sports arenas

CNNSI has a photo essay of the top 10 college sports arenas and for the most part I agree with it, however the order I cannot agree with. The list was in order :

1. The Rose Bowl
2. Cameron Indoor Arena
3. The Swamp
4. The Big House
5. Rosenblatt Stadium
6. The Palestra
7. Michie Stadium
8. Mariucci Arena
9. Charles River
10. Allen Fieldhouse

Now as far as I am concerned seven of the ten belong two are maybes and one just does not belong at all. I am sorrry, but as beautiful as the Charles River is it is not a sports arena, it is a natural event. I refuse to classify anything that is not constructed by man as a sports arena, plain and simple. The Rose Bowl and Rosenblatt, while both impressive and having outstanding histories, just don't cut it, they are for the most part special events arena on the college scene, and I know those in so-cal would say other wise, but UCLA does not fill the stadium up when it plays home games there, with the exception of the USC game. So that leaves the other seven

1. Cameron Indoor Arena
2. The Swamp
3. The Big House
4. The Palestra
5. Michie Stadium
6. Mariucci Arena
7. Allen Fieldhouse

and what other three places would I put on the list, well I would add LSU's stadium, Assembly Hall at Indiana, and Kyle Field, Memorial Stadium, or Nebraska's stadium, and possibly Reckling Park at Rice University as others.

Texans Preview

Well the Texans open training camp in ten days and it is about time for everyone in the city to start their annual Super Bowl dream sequence where your team is there and you are watching and hear this.....(cue the music). Then after 6 weeks of training camp and 4 meaningless pre season games, you sit down on sunday to hear the pregame show and then wait to see if you can catch any highlights on sports center. When deep down you know that eight wins will be a rousing success, espcially for the Texans that have had only one season where they have had one season where they even had a chance to see a .500 record at the end of the year. So now that I have burst your bubble, I will proceed to tell you why I think this season will be the most successful in Texans history.

1. First for the team to have its' most successful season it only needs to win eight games


2. the schedule is layed out that with some good luck ( and we all know they are due ) that there are 10 yes 10 games that they could win.


3. of those 10 wins 6 are games they should win because of who and where they are playing.


4. the off season roster moves made by GM Rick Smith are designed to bring some depth to a team that has been horribly under skilled the past couple of years.


5. the team has drafted well over the past two years, and the majority of those drafted have been on the defensive side of the ball, which is getting younger and faster and played much better over the last quarter of the season last year


6. We have a quarterback who is dedicated to winning and working hard to win


7. and finally the team is starting to get more tallent on the roster from top to bottom

All of that being said, there are still questionmarks on this team. These include the second WR position, is Kevin Walther the one to become the compliment to Andre Johnson? Will Charles Spencer return and be able to play again thus making the offensive line that much better? How will Mario Williams and Amobi Okoye blend, and can they become a dominant force on the defensive line? Will Jerome Mathis stay healthy for a full season and become at least a partial threat as a reciever? How long will Ahman Green hold up, and who will develop behind him, Wali Lundy, Chris Taylor? Will Jacoby Jones become the next Marques Colston and tear up the league after coming from a smaller college program? Will the defensive line stay healthy enough so that we will have some consistancy from that group? Can the team avoid a serious injury to a key player for the first time in it's history? If after the season we can say yes to these eight questions then we should be talking about a very fun and exciting and successful season.

Now does this gaurantee that the Texans will win 8 games or more this year? No they still have the games to play, but that being said I can honestly say that for the first time in the 6 years that they have been around there is not a game that I will sit down and watch and know that no matter what they do they have no chance of winning that game. As long as they can stay healthy and find some production from several key players this team will be prepared to play, they will play hard, and they will play smart. They should be fun to watch as well.

Let camp and the speculation begin.

FOXNews.com - Woman Dies Doing Handstand on Balcony - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News

Woman Dies Doing Handstand on Balcony

Here is the whole story:

ORLANDO, Fla. — An Alabama woman died after she fell 15 feet from an apartment balcony, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
Jessica Ashley Hawkins, 20, asked two friends to take her to the hospital after she struck the ground headfirst Thursday evening. Hawkins was attempting a handstand from the balcony when she fell.
Hawkins lost consciousness in the car on the way to the hospital, according to a sheriff's
incident report. She was taken to Winter Park Hospital, transferred to the Orlando Regional Medical Center and died at 11:35 p.m., according to the report.
"This really is a tragedy," sheriff's spokesman Jim Solomons said. "Both of the young lady's friends were very, very distraught."
Hawkins -- a former University of Central Florida student -- was visiting her boyfriend when she fell, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
"What this was was a gathering of friends. The investigation revealed nothing had gotten out of hand," Solomons said. "By all appearances, this is just a very, very tragic accident."

Ok now time for the crass and heartless commets, what in the hell was she thinking when she started to do this hand stand on the balcony? I am sorry that her friends have to go through this but this is a perfect Darwin Award if I have ever seen one. On top of doing something that was extremely stupid, her friends then moved her and attempted to transport her to the hospital and that is probably what helped lead to her death. You never move someone who has fallen that sort of distance and you 100% of the time NEVER EVER move someone who has fallen on her head.

Children in the news today...

I am shocked by the number of headlines where children are involved in something, eitehr criminal acts done by them, or to them, or simply the tragic ending of a young life before it's time... These are all on the front page of Foxnews.com as I post this.

Teen Dies in Dentist Chair

Illegal Immigrant Sex Offender Held in Murder of Kidnapped Tacoma, Wash., Girl

4-Year-Old Boy Drowns in Wave Pool at California Water Park

Report: Teens Having Less Sex

Teen Dies in Dentist Chair as Wisdom Teeth Removed

Baby Born Drunk: Blood Alcohol Six Times Legal Limit

Mom Arrested for Allegedly Treating Son's Fatal Head Injury With Popsicle

Mom Busted for Using Craigslist to Lure Teen Hookers

Baby Kicked Off Plane for Saying 'Bye Bye, Plane'

Lifeguards Save Teen Drowning in Kansas City Wave Pool

Katy reconsiders 12-year-old's graffiti suspension

This is another of KISD's attempts at "zero tolerance" enforcement that has gone wrong.

Katy reconsiders 12-year-old's graffiti suspension

Katy Independent School District is reconsidering a decision to send a sixth-grader to alternative school for four months after she confessed to writing "I love Alex" on a school gymnasium wall with a baby blue sharpie.
Under a firestorm of widespread criticism, the district is researching discipline options for Shelby Sendelbach, a 12-year-old Mayde Creek Junior High School pupil who was punished by the district with a Level 4 infraction after writing the message in permanent ink.
The grafitti offense — on par with making terroristic threats, drug possession and assault — is punishable as a felony under the district's discipline plan. Only a Level 5 is more severe -- for murder, possessing firearms, aggravated or sexual assault and arson.

Ok, first off when has writing on the walls or anything for that matter on the same level as any of these three actions,(terroristic threats, drug possession and assault). If you can give me an answer to that which makes sense then you are smarter than I am by a long shot.


Here is my personal feelings, there has been a significant overreaction on the part of teachers, administrators, school boards, and even parents with regards to school discipline. Busting someone for graffiti, for writing on a gym wall, is insane. It seems as if every time someone breaks a rule in Katy ISD the school and district jump in and throw the book at them, with out even taking the time to determine how serious the offense is. Why is that? Well for one thing most people in education for the past 20 years have been more about feel good environments, but kids who are not stupid, realized that they could get away with almost anything, started to do just that. Now districts are having to crack down and these same people who for the longest time could never bring themselves to calling a student down for something as simple as talking out of turn in class are having to discipline students and do not know how to. For that reason and that reason alone, they go to the extreme case and then fall back on the argument that they were only following the zero tolerance policy of the district. Buffalo Bagles, these educrats are the reason we have these problems and until they learn to better evaluate the level of a student's misbehavior, and start to apply some simple logic and common sense to assigning punishment we will continue to have these sorts of events.



This is not the first time KISD has been busted for going overboard with regards to their discipline and zero tolerance, and it will probably not be the last. These people need to stop reacting and start using the brains that they supposedly have.

Another link about Zero Tolerance
State lawmakers look at revamping school discipline

Headlines from 7/11

Higher birth control costs sting students

Katy ISD rethinks girl's graffiti punishment

Video Send-Up of Hillary Clinton by 'American Idol' Contestant Walks a Sexual Line

Video Link

Chicago Reporter Out After Tape Surfaces Showing Her in Swimsuit at Home of Missing Mom Lisa Stebic

More lack of judgement from a liberal reporter

Iran: We Are Ready to Take on Al Qaeda

Harris County toll road workers lose EZ Tag privileges | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Harris County toll road workers lose EZ Tag privileges

Ok now the headline says one thing and the story says another. Before I go any further, I want to make something very clear, I have no problem with employees having perks, or benefits that are unique to the company, that is one of the things that makes each different potential employer unique. However when those benefits are abused, then things need to be looked at and for that I applaud the Toll Road Authority. Read the whole story and let me know what you think...

More than 1,000 Harris County Toll Road Authority employees have lost their free EZ Tag privileges as agency officials review their policy of giving the perk to other county employees and public agencies.
Authority employees heading to work sites still will be able to drive on the toll roads without paying, but will have to stop and sign for the privilege at toll booths.
Commissioners Court took away the perk Tuesday and asked toll road officials to review whether the county should be giving as many as 5,500 free EZ Tags to county officials, police and fire departments, the FBI and others in public safety.
Also Tuesday, the court formally rescinded a June 19 vote to raise tolls from $1 to $2.50 on the Westpark Tollway — which allows only vehicles with EZ Tags — during peak hours.
Two days after the vote, following intense criticism of the congestion pricing plan by many tollway users, County Judge Ed Emmett announced the court would reverse its decision at its next meeting.
Emmett said he and other court members were pleased to get the public's reaction to the original decision. Based on such feedback, court members knew that most tollway users do not support peak-hour pricing, he said.
"I don't mind a public discourse of, 'Is this the right thing to do? Is this the wrong thing? ' " he said.
The court, however, stood by its decision to increase tolls by 25 cents throughout the pay road system. The increase will go into effect Sept. 3.
The increase, officials said, will boost toll road revenues about $65 million a year. The toll road authority said the higher rates were needed to pay for maintenance and build six new toll segments estimated to cost $4.4 billion.
"The across-the-board rate hike was necessary because it will allow for the development of other toll roads," Emmett said. "The problem with congestion pricing is that it wouldn't work if people who were forced off the tollway didn't have anywhere else to go."
Questions about the free EZ Tags arose last month amid public outcry over the county's short-lived plan for congestion pricing on Westpark.
Art Storey, director of the county's Public Infrastructure Department, said EZ Tags issued to toll road employees were to be used only for work-related trips. He said he was unsure whether employees violated that policy, a matter he suggested the county auditor's office may examine.
The auditor's office is conducting an audit of the toll road authority following revelations last month that the agency solicited donations from contractors and vendors to pay thousands of dollars for parties and SplashTown outings for authority employees.
Officials said agency employees collected nearly $60,000 from about 31 companies that had contracts with the toll road authority. About $45,000 of that was spent on a Splashtown outing for authority employees in June 2006. The remaining $15,000 was kept in a non-county bank account.
Toll road authority director Mike Strech was forced to resign about 6 weeks ago, and his executive assistant, Diana Wilcox, was fired over the practice that appeared to have gone on for several years.
On Tuesday Storey said toll road authority employees who need to ride on the tollway to reach work sites can do so without paying by signing their names at collection booths.
Others who have EZ Tags can submit expense vouchers for work-related trips, he said.
Storey said EZ Tags are given to law enforcement and county employees to help them do their jobs.

Los Angeles Mayor Acknowledges Relationship With TV Reporter

Los Angeles Mayor Acknowledges Relationship With TV Reporter

Now a public figure having a relationship with another public figure is not a big deal, however the fact that the Mayor is still married, yes there is a divorce in the works, shows how much the moral fiber of our country has fallen. Look at the comments and quotes from this man.

The mayor and his wife separated last month after 20 years of marriage. Corina Villaraigosa
filed for divorce June 12, a day after the mayor told reporters in a City Hall news conference that he took the blame for his crumbling marriage.
At the time, he wouldn't answer whether he was romantically involved with someone else, citing his family's privacy.
But Villaraigosa issued a statement, published Tuesday by the Los Angeles Daily News, acknowledging his involvement with Telemundo newswoman Mirthala Salinas, after the paper told the mayor it was set to publish a story about their relationship.
"It is true that I have a relationship with Ms. Mirthala Salinas. As I've said I take full responsibility for my actions, and I once again ask that people respect my family's privacy. For my part, I intend to stay focused on my job, and to work as hard as I can every day to be the best mayor I can be," Villaraigosa said.

Now let me see this guy is elected mayor of one of our two largest cities, he and his wife separate, she files for divorce after 20 years, and he only admits that it was an afair that caused the divorce after a local newspaper threatens to blow his cover?

Then there is more...

She seeks spousal support and primary physical custody of the couple's 14-year-old daughter, Natalia, with visitation terms to be worked out with the mayor, according to the filing.
The couple also have an 18-year-old son, Antonio Jr., and the mayor has two adult daughters from previous relationships.
Villaraigosa has carefully tended an image as a devoted family man, but his marriage has shown signs of trouble in the past.
His wife filed for divorce in 1994, but the couple reconciled after a two-and-a-half year split.

Get this he has 4 kids from 2 different women, yet somehow was able to come off as a devoted family man. Really sad.

Headlines I have collected

Ex-Marine, 72, Teaches Pickpocket a Lesson
New Jersey mutt wins ugliest dog crown in California
Judge rejects $54 million lawsuit over lost pair of pants
Millionaire, 84, died fleeing Harris probate court
Disney to scrap lucrative direct-to-DVD animated sequels
Is Earmark Disclosure a True Measure of Transparency? Actually the question is do we actually have a conservative or at least honest democrat?
Embattled Duke Rape Case Prosecutor Mike Nifong Could Get Jail Time
Senate Votes to Increase Fuel Economy Standards in Cars, SUVs
Sens. Hillary Clinton, Barbara Boxer Dispute Conversation About Reining in Conservative Talk Radio So who do you believe, a moderate/conservative republican or two flaming liberals
Prince William Turns 25, Gains Part of Diana's Inheritance Now the question is will he be king instead of his father, and who will he marry....
Bush Administration Opposes Making Immigration Bill Easier on Employers
Vatican Reverses Annulment of Ex-Rep. Joseph Kennedy's First Marriage
Computer Hacking Plagues Department of Homeland Security
County rescinds Westpark Tollway fee hike
Plan for new taxes on oil companies stalls
N.H. Town Hopes to End Standoff Between Police and Couple Barricaded in Home Since January
FOHacker Claims to Have Posted 'Harry Potter' Plot on Internet
Police Say Washington Baby Died After Mom Taped Pacifier in Infant's Mouth
The perils of carving a path to the Taliban's front door
Fireworks sales likely to blast off
Duke prosecutor testifies; ex-lacrosse player weeps

Complaints Prompt Bush Administration to Delay Passport Rule

Complaints Prompt Bush Administration to Delay Passport Rule - Now why does this headline not surprise me in the least. The Bush Administration has time and time again shown that they can come up with a solution for every problem the country faces, however if you ask them to implement them, the fail miserably.

At a Senate hearing Tuesday, Maura Harty, assistant secretary of state for consular affairs, took the blame for the passport mess, even as she offered a wide array of explanations.
Part of the problem, she said, was that in 2005 Hurricane Katrina reduced the capabilities of the agency's New Orleans passport office. She also said the agency had not expected so many Americans to actually obey the new law.
And, she said, many people were applying for passports with no specific travel plans in mind — but that is precisely what northern state lawmakers had warned would happen for those living along the U.S. border who do not plan such trips far in advance.

Now these comments are just what you can come to expect from a bureaucrat who is covering up for his or her boss. The one that nearly had me falling out of my chair was the one about so many Americans actually obeying the new law. What country and group of people did she expect? I mean the majority of the citizens of the US are law abiding citizens, and will do what they can to obey new laws when they come out no matter how insane they think they are.

So here we are, looking at another Bush Administration idea that was implemented without looking at the whole picture. And to think we have nothing better on the horizon when it comes to candidates on either side of the fence for 2008.

It is time to vote for NONE OF THE ABOVE.

Are we nearing the end in the Duke Lacross Rape story?

Here we go with the final chapters of the Duke Lacross Rape case.
to summarize
1) Duke Lacross team has a party, strippers are invited
2) underage drinking occurs
3) one of the strippers, a black woman, with a past history accuses them of rape.
4) the DA, in a tight race for re-election takes the case
5) People are up screaming for these rich spoiled brats to face justice.
6) DNA testing is done to verify if a crime occurred
7) The accuser's background is made public, and her credibility is brought into question.
8) the DA calls the Duke players hooligans and swears that they will face a trial.
9) Charges of rape are brought on 3 of the players
10) DNA Testing shows that the 3 are innocent
11) The DA refuses to release all DNA Testing
12) the accuser' changes her story so many times, any reasonable person would question its truth.
13) Duke suspends the lacross teams season and fires the coach
14) the DA wins re-election
15) Pressure to drop the charges because there is no evidence increases
16) the DA turns the case over to the State AG for completion
17) the State AG drops the charges and calls the DA's actions deplorable
18) DA faces multiple charges both civil, criminal, and professionally
19) DA is disbarred for over 10 violations of conduct code but he shows no remorse

District Attorney Mike Nifong was disbarred Saturday for his "selfish" rape
prosecution of three Duke University lacrosse players -- a politically motivated
act, his judges said, that he inexplicably allowed to fester for months after it
was clear the defendants were innocent.
"This matter has been a fiasco.
There's no doubt about it," said F. Lane Williamson, the chairman of the
three-member disciplinary committee that stripped the veteran prosecutor of his
state law license.
Even Nifong and his attorneys supported the decision,
though the veteran prosecutor refused to admit to the end that no crime occurred
at a March 2006 lacrosse team party

20) DA resigns from office and offers to leave middle of July
21) State superior court judge bars DA from office and removes him from his position ASAP
22) Duke and accused players reach settlement

The players said in a joint statement that they hoped the agreement would "begin
to bring the Duke family back together again."
"The events of the last year
tore the Duke community apart, and forcibly separated us from the university we
love," they said. "We were the victims of a rogue prosecutor concerned only with
winning an election, and others determined to railroad three Duke lacrosse
players and to diminish the reputation of Duke University."

23) NCAA gives accused players extra year of elegibility

OK now with all of this that has happened over the past 13 months, have we learned anything? I would say no, simply because there are still to many people who feel that they deserve something, and will do anything to get it. The DA in this case was so desperate to get elected after being appointed to the position last year that he failed to look at the whole picture, as well as failed to keep is personal feelings out of the case. He is lucky that he only lost his job and not all of his retirement and benefits. But that may well be coming as it looks like the 3 young men who were WRONGLY accused of this crime are looking into a civil case against the DA. I hope they take him for everything he has and he has to start over. I will not say that this is a liberal democrat that is getting busted, but what it is plain and simple is a person who let their ambitions and the public outcry and outright local hatred of a group that was better off than them cloud his decision making to the point that he eventually realized that he could not just walk away with out completely losing all credibility. He has convinced himself that a crime did occur, and that he simply pursued the wrong "criminals". Really sad if you ask me.

Time to for the Astros to be HONEST with the fans, as well as themselves

Ladies and Gentlemen, after last night I have officially declared this years Houston Astros season DEAD... Yes I know that there is still more than half the season left, but this team has shown me no spark, no cohesiveness that I have seen from teams in the past. It is time for Drayton to give GM Tim Papura the green light to make some wholesale changes and look to build a long term contender starting today.
Now here are some of the things that if I were GM would do:

• First I would sit down with Jason Jennings and get a long term deal worked out, and if that fails then I would admit that the trade was a mistake and get rid of him. Trade him to a contender and get a couple of prospects. As a team the Astros cannot afford to let this guy walk and only get a draft pick for him.
• Second I would make sure that Chris Burke got as much work at second base as possible, Biggio would play at most 3 days a week, and if that means he has to pinch hit to get more at-bats to get to 3k hits so be it.
• Next I would end this joke that is the Luke Scott, Jason Lane, are everyday MLB players, I would get Josh Anderson up here and see if he can cut it. Put him in the leadoff spot and hit Berkman 3rd, Lee 4th, and Pence 5th and see what happens.
• I would make sure that Eric Munson gets about 50% of the catching assignments
• I would be trading some of the following pitchers, Lidge, Wheeler, Qualls, Williams, Jennings if I cannot sign, for AA or A prospects.
• I would then bring up the kiddie corp of pitchers and let them go.

There is ZERO reason for this team to be bringing up players that are rookies that are 26-28 years old. It has been proven many times that 95% of all players have their best years between the ages of 26 and 31. So that means you should be seeing guys that are in their early 20's as rookies. There is no reason for someone who played 4 years of Division I college baseball to be sitting in high class A baseball 2 years after drafting them. The management of the development system for the Astros is screwed up and needs to be fixed.

The Astros are dead and we need to scrap this season and look towards next year and get some of the players that we know are dead wood out of here now and let the young talent see if they have what it takes. PLAIN AND SIMPLE

Collection of Headlines

7 Sex Offenders Arrested in Texas MySpace Crackdown
Schwarzenegger to Immigrants: Avoid Spanish-Language Media
Markets Surge on CPI Data; Dow Jumps 100 Points
Hamas Seizes Control of Main Gaza Road as Civil War Breaks Out
Rays: Former foster teen says she is carrying Dukes' baby
House tentatively OKs plan to replace TAKS test
The ultimate hoops game from hell
Man Sentenced to Life for Killing Teen Who Walked on His Lawn
$152 billion Texas budget pact boosts education
Grand jury clears shooter in March Metro fatality
Rift seen in Iraq insurgency -- some groups reject al Qaeda
Bill, Hillary Clinton Sold Drug, Oil Assets to Avoid Conflicts of Interest

Immigration Reform for Dummies (or Congress) your choice

Well over the past few months we have seen just about every idea regarding immigration reform discussed and argued about and still Congress sits on their collective asses and does nothing. Why well for one the liberals cannot make up their minds, and the conservatives are afraid to take a position and fight for it. So I have taken it upon myself to sit down and look at the issue and see if we the people cannot come up with a solution that we can send to Congress for examination.

In order to do that we need to look at the what are the things that have people trying to enter this country illegally in the first place. Next we need to find a way to either eliminate that incentive or make it easier for the goal to be achieved. Finally we need to set things out in a way that allows for easy and consistent enforcement of these guidelines.

That being said I know of at least 5 reasons that people are crossing the borders illegally:

• better paying Jobs than at home
• Free Health care
• US Citizenship by birth
• little or no taxes
• Family already here

I know there are others however for discussion I think that these five cover the largest portion of the pie. So how do we fix things and eliminate the incentive or if necessary make it easier to enter legally?

Well for starters we can eliminate two of the issues really fast, US Citizenship and Health care. Citizenship requirements need to be cleaned up, and eliminating the Citizenship by birth for all, and change it to Citizenship by birth for those here legally. If you are in the country illegally your children born here are not citizens of the US plain and simple. Refuse to recognize these births and you reduce and probably eliminate the pregnant woman coming across the border and having her kid in a border town hospital. This also will reduce if not eliminate the problem of splitting up families because mommy and daddy are illegal.

Along those same lines you eliminate free health care and other government programs for non citizens and several things will happen. First the local support programs, hospitals and police, will not be stretched as thin because of all the expenses that they have to write off due to non payment or indigent care, and at the same time the quality of care should improve for those that need it. This means that every facility should be allowed to refuse service if they feel that the person who is requesting care is not a citizen, that and the emergency clinics should be able to refuse care for those that are truly not in need of emergency care. Cut out food stamps, welfare, and any other program that enables illegal to be attached to the teat of the government.

Now as far as dealing with the employment issue, it should be cut and dried. Every person who wants to enter the country strictly as a worker should be allowed to provided they follow these steps.

• They enter the country from a legal point of entry
• They submit to fingerprinting
• If they want citizenship they have to return to their country and start the process.
• They will be given a work visa that expires 365 days from date of issue and needs to be renewed annually for a small fee. This renewal could be done at any consul or point of entry or INS office .
• If for any reason they are convicted of a felony, all rights and access would be revoked permanently. Misdemeanors would be different, however habitual offenders could have their rights and access revoked as well.
• Eliminate sanctuary cities and find a way to withhold federal assistance funds for local projects if for any reason immigration laws are not enforced within any part of the country, be that city, county, or state.
• Accept the issuance of a federal foreign worker ID card that is tied to a unique tax id number, and that is accepted as a form of ID that way employers can take care of the payroll taxes and such. Also they would during the process forfeit the right to claim any of their income taxes that are withheld. They would have the option if they obtain citizenship get a partial refund of these taxes provided they have been legal the whole time.
• They pay an administrative fee of no more than $200 that would cover the above expenses

Now you all may be saying that is all well and good, but how do we deal with the twelve million plus that are here illegally right now. To that I say, we give them ONE chance to come clean, after that we go after them with no mercy or quarter, and here is how that is done. On the first day of the month after this legislation is signed, the following rules would be put in place.

Anyone who is in the country right now illegally has 6 months to come clean, return to a legal point of entry, and begin the process as described above or face forfeiture of any and all future access to the program. Then at the end of the 6 month period you start hitting cities one by one and holding massive immigration sweeps, unannounced, and hit all of the day labor sites, as well as spot checks at employment sites where immigrants are known to be employed, as well as social spots. No other choice, and from then on if you are caught in this country illegally you will be fingerprinted, and shipped back to your country of origin. If for some reason someone is caught a second or even a third time they will face prison for at least 15 years.

I realize this is not a perfect plan and some would call it amnesty, however we need to do something, and the sad thing is if we leave it up to Congress it will be nothing more than a hollow convoluted mess that cannot be enforced let alone understood. Just look at the Medicare Prescription plan that was enacted.

This crap has to stop and soon

I have been sitting back and watching what has been going on in Florida lately and I have had enough. No I am not talking about some political scandal involving Jeb Bush, or Kathleen Turner. I am talking about Billy Donovan, the onetime head basketball coach of both the University of Florida, as well as the Orlando Magic. As i said before in a previous post about how I can trust professional and college coaches about as far as you can throw them, I now am willing to move Donovan to the head of the class of liars, frauds and thieves. Here is a coach who after eleven yes eleven years at an institution, walks away for a huge contract to coach in the NBA. I have no problem with that, Donovan had a contract extension from the university in his desk drawer that he never signed. He had turned down other college coaching positions, and had said no to the NBA on at least two other occasions. So he decides to explore his options, and here come the Orlando Magic, a team that needs a good coach, and they throw almost SIX MILLION DOLLARS a year at the man. Only a fool would not look at the opportunity that was presented, however here is where Donovan, and many of the other frauds, go wrong. Instead of taking a couple of extra days and really going over the whole scenario with his family, Donovan apparently after only two days jumps at the money and the "prestige" of being an NBA head coach, then less than forty eight hours after he has signed his contract, and that is another mistake, Donovan tries to beg out of the contract. Here is a quote from Donovan on the whole fiasco.

"I realized in less than 24 hours after signing a contract with the Magic that I had made a mistake that had nothing to do with the Magic. Instead, I realized that, in my heart, I belonged in college basketball. As soon as I realized that, I contacted the Magic immediately to let them know. I have enormous respect for the Magic -- including the DeVos family, the management, the team and the fans.
"In these circumstances, it would have been entirely unfair to the Magic and their fans to have continued on. Although this has been a difficult time for everyone, for which I am profoundly sorry, in my heart I know that this is the right thing for the Magic and for me.
"It's my admiration for the whole Magic organization that led me to this course of action. I believe that the Magic has a great future ahead of them, and I wish them all the best."

All I have to say is BULL SHIT. I really am glad that as part of the agreement that was worked out there is a FIVE year no compete clause that keeps Donovan from being in the NBA. It does not preclude him going somewhere in the college ranks, however I really doubt that many Universities will want him now that they have seen that he is so willing to change his mind. I also hope that the new contract that he is about to sign with the University of Florida has some very stiff buyout/abandonment/resignation clauses in it, because the last thing they need is him bolting again and looking to come back.

Now I want to make one thing clear, Billy Donovan is a very bright and talented basketball coach, and he has proven that he can build a winning program at a school that for the most part is a football first athletic department. My issue is with the fact that as a coach, whether he likes it or wants to admit it, he is a role model for the young men that are on his squad. And his actions only show to those young men that contracts were made to be broken and that your word is only good until your feelings change on a subject. What sort of message is that sending? You tell me

What is happening in sports

Well two months have passed since I last graced these pages with my thougts, however a lot has gone on since then.

• I participated in the Fox Bloggers NFL draft


• The NFL draft happend


• the MLB season started


• The NBA Playoffs have been rolling along


• I changed jobs


• The Astros woke up and brought up Hunter Pence


• The Rockets flamed out in the first round again


• Then they fired their coach


• Roger Clemens decided that money and the Yankees were where he wanted to be


• The Rockets have hired a new coach


• The Astros continue to muddle along around .500


• NFL OTA's have begun


• More NFL players have been arrested


• More NFL players have opened their mouths to comment on issues and shown how stupid and out of touch with reality they really are


• More Steroid talk in MLB


• Barry Bonds chases Hank Aaron and Hank could care less


• Bud Selig again comes off looking like the fool he is with regards to steroids and Barry


• Craig Biggio approaches 3000 hits and in the process is dragging down his team


• Brad Lidge explodes and loses his closers job less than one month into the season


• The NBA Draft Lottery happens and the 3 teams that tanked the last third of the season did not get one of the top 3 picks


• Florida Repeated as NCAA basketball champions


• College Baseball and Softball seasons rolled on to conclusion


• NHL Playoffs have started


• I have tested for my Senior Blue Belt in Tae Kwon Do and was successful.

So there you go a quick overview of what is going on in the world of sports through today. I hope that I'll have time to write up a couple of articles about some of these events with more detail soon.

Later all

One of My TKD instructors.

She is the one who delivers the kick....

Sports headlines since 4-10-07

Yao takes blame for Rockets' first-round loss

Clemens will reunite with Pettitte in New York

Jazz top Rockets in Game 7 to advance in playoffs

Crasnick: Meet the best defensive shortstop in baseball

Amaechi 'caught up in the whirlwind' after coming out

ESPN The Magazine: John Amaechi Busts Out

Amaechi in speech: 'I underestimated America'

ESPN The Magazine: Open Look

Misc Headlines since 4-10-07

General Lee going for millions

Did Fort Bend teacher dump class for Bachelor?

NASA Rethinking Death, Sex for Long Space Trips

Economics 101: Look at the Facts; Don't Listen to Hysterics

U.S. Man Arrested in Hong Kong in Notorious Child Abuse

Kansas Prison Limits Inmates to 4 Rolls of Toilet Paper Per Month

Wally Schirra, One of America's Seven Original Mercury Astronauts, Dead at 84

Political Headlines since 4-10-07

Dewhurst balks at Perry's push for more tax relief

Patrick's abortion bill advances despite criticism

House bill OKs religious expression on campus

Senate passes shield law after adding a few loopholes

Top 10% admissions cap proposal moves ahead in Senate

Appraisals up 7%, but tax bills should shrink

Hamas Fires Rockets at Israel After Declaring End to 5-Month Truce

Hamas Calls for New Terror Attacks on Israel

Rep. Hunter Calls on Harry Reid to Step Down as Senate Majority Leader

Supreme Court to weigh fate of Houston teens' killer

Conservative Sarkozy and Socialist Royal Face Off in French Presidential Election

Another Event we should never forget but probably will

Monday, April 16th 2007…. A day that in any other normal year, would be the day that citizens of the United States would be sending their Income Tax Returns to Uncle Sam. However instead we were again shocked horrified and sadden by a brutal shooting spree at a school. This time instead of some irate parent or student at some high school in some small town USA, we are confronted with over thirty people shot to death at a university. And this was not just some small country college; no this was at one of the major state universities, Virginia Tech.

Now as I sit here and compose this article, I have come to one very unfortunate realization about the world that we live in, and that is the fact that people today are so addicted to instant access news and information that, they cannot stand to wait and allow police the time needed to do their jobs and get the answers to this crime. This is not the first time, nor will it probably be the last time that some crime or news event is broadcast and before the ink is even dry on the paper that the story is written on, there will be rampant speculation about everything about the event, and that the event will have been tried in the court of public opinion to the point that it will be considered a dead horse in less than week. This is what happened with the Duke Lacrosse Rape case, the three young men were found guilty before a single shred of evidence was collected, and in the process the District Attorney, committed the biggest mistake a public official could make. He tried to use a hot button issue from his election campaign to cloud his judgement with how to run the investigation.

But back to Blacksburg, and the horror and pain that those people have gone through as well as what they will be going through in the near future. There will be many stories about the person who did this, his whole life will be examined with a microscope, his friends and family will be harassed and bothered till they have no private life anymore, yet at the same time the stories about the true heroes will be told and forgotten faster than a four year old forgets where his shoes are. We will also forget about the 32 people that this gunman apparently shot down in cold blood before turning the weapon on himself. The saddest thing about this latest rampage through a learning institution is the fact that, someone somewhere will take this moment, one of mourning and sadness, and try to turn it into a political talking point. That and it will probably be someone who will stand up and demand tougher gun laws, or some other insane idea. This article right here is proof that people simply do not think before they open their mouths. The saddest thing about this event is that just like the WTC bombings of 1983, 9/11, the US Embassy Bombing in Lebanon, and many other events this one will eventually be forgotten by all but those that lost a loved one in the event, simply because society as a whole, and people in general, prefer to walk around and live life like a horse with blinkers on, seeing only what they need to, ignoring the fact that we live in a violent and confusing world, that has many problems that will not go away unless we are willing to put in the time and effort to make a difference.

Until that happens things will remain the same and the VTech massacre, will eventually fade into the pages of our history, forgotten by all but those that were directly touched by it.

My prayers are with the friends and families of those killed in Blacksburg yesterday, may they rest in peace, and may their families find the healing process is quick.

Comics of the Day

Beaurocrats at their best...

Strickland Georgia Prius fails emission test

Jason Whitlock Hits another Home Run when discussing Race

Jason Whitlock, is 2 for 2 with 2 home runs. Now he is not a baseball player he is a writer for the Kansas City Star, as well as a contributor on ESPN, and AOL. For those that do not know him here is a little more background:

Think you know it all? Not until you read Jason. Jason Whitlock has been creating water-cooler conversation in Kansas City since his arrival at The Star in 1994. His award-winning newspaper columns shock the funny bone, challenge conventional wisdom and cause readers to re-think their positions

So why do I think that he has knocked the ball out of the park 2 times? Well it simply has to do with the fact that here is a black man who is not afraid to call out those of his race when he sees them acting like fools, or doing things that he sees as detrimental to either the black community, race relations or both. However when he does this he also opens himself up for the inevitable cheap shots that come from the poverty pimps, race baiters, and appologists. That does not seem to bother Jason, and I applaud him for his courage of convictions and his willingness to call a spade a spade ( and yes I did use that word ) I do not care one single bit. Whitlock along with a few other influential Blacks have stood up and have said the same thing that most conservatives have said for the past 40 years, the black community needs to be responsible for itself, and that goes all the way down to the individual. And until this happens there will always be people like Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson willing to step up and make money off of the misfortunes of any and all minorities.

However enough of my bitching about the poverty pimps and their actions, and back to Jason and the articles. Anyone who follows sports knows about Adam "Pacman" Jones the corner back for the Tennessee Titans who was just suspended for the whole NFL season because of his 10 off the field events that have required police intervention. Now these 10 events have happened in less than 2 full years, and do not include several other run ins that he had during college. For there full details of the final straw you can read Whitlock's article entitled : Mayhem Main Event at NBA All-Star Weekend . Here are a couple of quotes.

NBA All-Star Weekend in Vegas was an unmitigated failure, and any thoughts of taking the extravaganza to New Orleans in 2008 are total lunacy.
An event planned to showcase what is right about professional basketball has been turned into a 72-hour display of why commissioner David Stern can't sleep at night and spends his days thinking of rules to mask what the NBA has come to represent. Good luck fixing All-Star Weekend. The game is a sloppy, boring, half-hearted mess. The dunk contest is contrived and pointless. The celebrity contest is unintended comedy. And, worst of all, All-Star Weekend revelers have transformed the league's mid-season exhibition into the new millennium Freaknik, an out-of-control street party that features gun play, violence, non-stop weed smoke and general mayhem.

Now that article generated a lot of heat especially from those that are trying to protect the NBA, however now that the full story about "Pacman" and his trash bag of 1's has hit the press, even the NFL players association has called for stronger guidelines for behavior off the field, all year. There is finally some accountability that is being delivered to these over paid children for their actions.

Well when noise from that article died down Don Imus decided to open his mouth and insert his foot up to his knee, by calling the Rutgers women's basketball team a bunch of "nappy headed Ho's". Now all of a sudden the poverty pimps have a new target, Imus. Now I do not condone what Imus said, however there are at least 20 or more "singers" who have songs out that say a whole hell of a lot of things that are worse, but you do not hear anybody from the black community say anything about that because it would be wrong to hold the black community accountable for it's own poor behavior, let alone expect the "leaders" to set the proper example. That is where Whitlock's second article comes in: Don Imus is not the real story

Thank you, Don Imus. You’ve given us (black people) an excuse to avoid our real problem. You’ve given Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson another opportunity to pretend that the old fight, which is now the safe and lucrative fight, is still the most important fight in our push for true economic and social equality.

Thank you, Don Imus. You extended Black History Month to April, and we can once again wallow in victim hood, protest like it’s 1965 and delude ourselves into believing that fixing your hatred is more necessary than eradicating our self-hatred.
The bigots win again.
While we’re fixated on a bad joke cracked by an irrelevant, bad shock jock, I’m sure at least one of the marvelous young women on the Rutgers basketball team is somewhere snapping her fingers to the beat of 50 Cent’s or Snoop Dogg’s or Young Jeezy’s latest ode glorifying nappy-headed pimps and hos.

So you see where this is all going. Jason Whitlock is calling these people to the carpet and demanding accountability in the black community. Bill Cosby has taken heat for doing the same thing, however both of these men have done something that very few people can or are willing to do, and that is stand up to those in power and tell them that they are wrong, and reach out to the general public and try to wake them up to the reality of things, and get them to stop living in the past. If or when the black community as a whole wakes up and sees what 40+ years of blindly following the democrats and the liberal agenda has done to their community, you will see a drastic shift in support to the conservative mind set, and the black communities that right now are shunned, by most will become thriving centers of hope, life and energy that has not been seen in this country in a long time. Just wait, it is going to happen, and it will happen a lot sooner than most liberals think.

I wonder who actually looks at this

Over the past few weeks I have gotten the distinct feeling that there are certain people over at other sites that I visit that have decided to a) tune me out, b) deliberately provoke me through insults, or c) a combination of both. Now if it has come to the point that a majority of people or even a significant number of people on those sites feel that I am irrelevant then that is fine with me. I have no problem moving on and looking for other discussion groups, as well as others to share my ideas and concerns with. But at the same time I do not appreciate being ignored, and talked about as if I am not present. So.....

I have in the past gotten snippy with some people and I do regret it, to a certain point. I do not regret the honest and respectful discussions that I had with these people, however I guess that their actions and comments should let me know that I am not wanted nor are my perspectives appreciated, and that is fine. I'll move on.

So to all of those that I have shared my thoughts, ideas and concerns with over the past year I wish you good health, and good fortunes.

This may well be my last post here as well, I do not know if it is even worth the effort keeping this up if my perspective is not appreciated nor respected.

I am out.

Bills on local tax limits languish, and Fred Hill still does not get it

Bills on local tax limits languish , the headline says it all, the Texas Legislature is again dragging its collective feet in getting meaningful property tax legislation sent up to the floor for debate. And again for the third legislative session in a row Fred Hill (RINO) Richardson shows just how stupid and arrogant he is.

I'll start with Mr. Hill who has been the bigest RINO on the plantation with regards to property Taxes. Here is his comments on the issue in the article

"The House still has a whole lot of bills to deal with in the remaining weeks of the session, and I don't believe that appraisal caps or revenue caps will be among those that pass," said Rep. Fred Hill, who chairs the House Local Ways and Means Committee that has jurisdiction over many of the issues.
"In the last three years, the members have learned a lot about these subjects," he said. "It's not that we are opposed to doing something to relieve the property tax situation, but these bills don't really help and won't do anything to make government more efficient."
Mr. Hill, R-Richardson, called the proposals "bad public policy," pointing to studies showing that while Texas has one of the higher property tax loads in the country, it ranks 44th among the states in per capita tax burden.
"Texas is a bargain when it comes to taxes," he said.

He thinks it is a bargain?, he thinks it is bad public policy to force taxing entities to have a strict budget? He seems to miss the point that if things do not change then people will start losing their homes because they cannot pay their taxes. What will happen then? Well I will bet that the classic snowball effect will take place. The tax rates will go up to cover for the missing income, and then more people will lose their homes or downsize. And eventually the strong housing market that we now have will implode worse than the 1980's real estate bust. Hill's comments also prove that he is pro-governement and anti-tax cut, and does not seem to understand that 99% of the people in the state of Texas have not seen an annual salary increase of over 5% in years. Just to prove that Mr. Hill has never been in the situation that most of you that will read this have been in here is a link to Mr. Hill's DCAD property record and you can see that his property value has been capped only 1 year in the past 8. Also look at the value and history and you can see that at about the time the appraisal cap issue came to the forefront of the state legislature Mr. Hill qualified for and was granted an OVER 65 exemption which for the most part has protected him from significant tax increases.

Now from that to the other head of this snake, the TAC and Elna Christopher.

Elna Christopher, a spokeswoman for the Texas Association of Counties, said the group remains "very concerned" about the revenue cap measure. It would establish a 5 percent increase limit on annual revenues for cities and counties that could be exceeded only with voter approval. Currently, voters can petition for an election to roll back the property tax rate if the effective rate increases more than 8 percent in a given year.
"The counties believe it would be disastrous," Ms. Christopher said. City and county officials across the state have warned that priorities such as adequate police protection and economic development projects could be jeopardized if local officials lose control over their property tax rates.

Again the TAC and Ms. Christopher are a fountain of misinformation. First of all, the reason that TAC is against this is because it would force the 90% of counties, MUD Districts, and School Districts to become more responsable stewards with OUR MONEY, heaven forbid. Also it is not harming current budgets, all it would do is reduce the size of the raise that the county would get. I have said it before here shifting where the money comes from will not make the burden any less for the people who pay the taxes.

It is time for the citizens of Texas to step up and put some pressure on those in power to get the following bills out of committee and on to the floor of the Texas House and Senate for some honest debate and a vote up or down, so that we can see who is for giving the tax payers of the state a break and who is willing to side with TAC and other political cronies.

Here are links to the bills as well as a link to the committee that they have been sent to.

SB347: Would reduce the cap on how much property appraisals can increase, from 10 percent a year to 5 percent a year. Bill Text for SB347 and SJR 14
STATUS: Awaiting a hearing in a Senate committee. Finance Committee

HB2463: Would let homeowners pay property taxes based on the five-year average of their home's appraised value. Bill Text for HB2463
STATUS: Given a hearing in a House committee, but the panel has not voted on it. House Ways and Means

HB3534: Would cap how much local governments' revenue can increase, unless they let voters cast ballots on the issue. Bill Text for HB3543
STATUS: Awaiting a hearing in a House committee. House Ways and Means

SB270: Would require the disclosure of the sales price of real estate. Bill Text for SB270
STATUS: Scheduled for a hearing Wednesday in a Senate committee. Intergovernmental Regulations

SB407: Would allow voters to approve a sales-tax increase to offset a property tax cut. Bill Text SB407
STATUS: Awaiting a hearing in a Senate committee. Finance Committee