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

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 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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

One more voice saying celebs are not role models

I am always thrilled when someone stands up and either questions or condemns the actions of someone from the "entertainment" industry. It does not matter if it is politics, fashion, or behavior. The sooner people realize that these people should always be held to a higher standard, as well as not be held in as high regard, we will be a whole lot better off.
The following article again sounds the warning that rich little tarts like Britteny Spears, Paris Hilton, and Lindsay Lohan should never be role models and that the press is responsible for their continuing inappropriate behavior.

Here is what I mean.

I always cringe every time people show concern over the antics of celebrities and about the impact they can have over impressionable youngsters.

Other celebrities like Paris Hilton and Lindsey Lohan created their own uproar with sex tapes and flashing the paparazzi. In a two month time period, Lohan went panty-less four times in front of hordes of cameras. Consequently, a famous person being naked or at least giving full frontal nudity is more than enough to create a media sensation. And the tabloids and the press loved it.

Unfortunately, too many people have an unrealistic expectation of celebrities being role models to young people. Britney Spears is not a role model. And neither is Paris Hilton or Lindsey Lohan. More often than not, their outrageous behavior is done to garner publicity and attention or to feed their own insatiable egos.

The author is spot on about the fact that 99% of the actions that these young "ladies" do are to get more attention and feed their egos. If only someone had been there when they were younger to hold them accountable for their actions, things might be different.

But if parents in particular and society in general are actually expecting these beautiful sexy starlets to be positive role models to young girls, then they are going to be terribly disappointed.

NBA superstar Charles Barkely created a backlash when he adamantly insisted that he is not a role model. Lots of people were taken aback and some basketball fans were furious by such a bold but truthful statement. But as iconoclastic as Barkley is, he is definitely right when he further asserted that ordinary people like parents and teachers ought to be the role models for kids.

And it is also time for ordinary people like parents to step up to the plate and behave like mature responsible adults so that they can give kids the direction and support they need, especially during the turbulent times of their lives. And most importantly, parents who create a nurturing environment can have a profound influence upon their children if they apply themselves to it and become a moral authority that can be respected.

However, if parents fail to step up to the plate and assert their influence, then Britney Spears and others will be more than happy to influence the next generation of youth.